The Historians
by ladybrit
Summary: Matt, Kitty and Doc find themselves in a different place and time. A little more science fiction with a Gunsmoke theme
1. Chapter 1

**The Historians.** October 2012

Chapter 1

Doc Adams left the small ranch house behind. He had been there for three days, trying to save two-year-old boy that had eventually succumbed to a high fever that he could not bring down. He had felt tired and almost fevered himself as he climbed up into the old buggy and headed back towards Dodge. He knew in his heart that someday there would be cures for many of these diseases that he could only sit and watch as they ran their course. Sometimes he felt like a fraud because all he could do was sit there and run through the motions of doing something but knowing, deep down, that there was nothing to be done except wait for the inevitable. It did not help that his patients, or in this case the parents, seemed so grateful to him for being there, even though he knew that his presence served little purpose.

Deep in these thoughts he headed into town. Stopping outside the livery he was greeted by Hank.

"You look all wore out Doc," the man had told him.

Wearily he looked at the stable man as he lifted his black bag from under the seat of the buggy.

"Yes I had a rough few days," he acknowledged.

He headed along towards his office, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. His head was aching and he wanted to get a few hours sleep before anyone came knocking on his door.

Kitty Russell was standing outside the swing doors of the Long Branch Saloon thinking that any minute now the morning drinkers would be headed her way. She had spent the last hour helping Sam and Clem clean up from last night's revelers, now she watched as the elderly physician made his way from the Livery to his office. Poor old Doc looks exhausted, she thought to herself. He had headed out to the Johnson place four days ago and it looked like he hadn't got much sleep since. She was glad to see him back and would go check on him later, maybe take him a few sandwiches for lunch.

As it turned out things got busy and it was well into the afternoon before Kitty remembered she had planned to take Doc some lunch. She went out to the small kitchen and prepared some ham and cheese, and placed it on a plate with some bread. Covering the food with a second plate she told Sam she was heading up to check on Doc, and left the Long Branch to walk the short distance to Doc's office. Gathering her skirt in one hand whilst holding the food in the other she hurried up the steps to see about her friend.

Surprisingly there was no light on inside when she opened the door. Presumably the man had been so tired that he was still asleep. She placed the plate on top of the old roll top desk and quietly opened the door to the back room. There he lay, still fully dressed even down to his boots, on top of the old quilt, which covered the bed. She smiled to herself and returned to the office to light a lamp. Now that she could see a little better she noticed the beads of sweat standing out on his forehead. Carefully she touched his face with the back of her hand. His skin felt hot and dry with fever.

"Doc," she called trying to rouse him, "Doc are you all right?"  
He stirred and opened his eyes, even the dim light from the lamp seemed to hurt him.

"Are you sick?" She asks him quietly.

"I think I must have a touch of the ague," he said noting his fever and general aches and pains. "I just need to rest for a while and I'll be better."

"Can I get you something?"

"Maybe a little quinine, its over there in the medicine cabinet," he told her weakly.

She found the bottle and a small shot glass into which she poured out the amount she remembered as a dose. She put a small amount of water in a cup from the water bucket and added the medicine to it, then headed back to the bedroom and lifted the man's head so he could drink it. He made a face at the bitter taste but thanked her as she laid him down again.

She looked around for a cloth to wipe his face, then carefully undid his tie, loosened his shirt and removed his boots. Pulling a chair up next to the bed she gently sponged his face and upper chest.

"You just rest quiet now Doc, I have to go let Sam know I won't be there this evening so he can get Clem or Freddie to help out. I'll be back soon."

She hated to leave him alone, but did not intend to be long.

It was dark before she returned. The lamp she had left burning cast a soft yellow glow throughout the front part of the office, but it was almost impossible to see much more than dark outlines in the back bedroom. She could here him mumbling incoherently and so carried the small lamp with her to see how he was. The man was sweating profusely, talking but not making any sense. She knew she needed to get the fever down so unbuttoned the rest of the buttons on his shirt and loosened his pants. Then she got the cloth again and bathed his upper body with some cool water. She noted that he laid very still trying, even in his fevered state, not to move.  
"Doc," she was almost crying, "please tell me what to do to help you."  
Somehow he focused long enough to look at her as she leaned over him.

"Not much to do," he took a rasping breath "brain fever."

The effort of his words exhausted him and he relapsed back into a mumbling state of semi consciousness.

"No," she said in fear, "no its just the ague, Doc, I'll stay with you, you'll be better when the fever breaks.

For the next several days Kitty stayed there by the elderly physician's side, hardly eating or getting any rest. She did not allow herself to accept his own diagnosis. She had watched several people die from that illness. Doc was not going to die, he was too important to this town, to her and to Matt. This was not happening. Chester came and spelled her some each day so that she could check on the Long Branch and get something to eat. Ma Smalley even stayed with him one night so she could go home to sleep, but sleep did not come to her, she was too scared as to what was going to happen. Where was Matt? He had been gone for several weeks. Surely he would be back any day now. He would know what to do.

0o0o0o0

Matt Dillon was returning to Dodge. He had been gone for about three weeks on a trip that had taken him all the way to Tascosa. He had finally caught up with the man he was after, but even though he had intended to bring him back to Dodge for trial, a gunfight had ensued and he finished up having to kill the man.

His buckskin horse was as dirty and sweaty as he was when they made their way along Front Street. He left the animal at the livery, asking Hank to take care of him. He removed his Winchester, canteen and bedroll from the saddle and hurried along the boardwalk to the jail. He knew he had to sit down and write a report on the trip and document how he had had to kill Dan Wilson, while all those details were fresh in his mind. He hated killing, but when someone drew a gun on him he had no choice. The man had nothing to lose after all, having killed a bank clerk in a botched robbery his most likely future would lay at the end of a rope.

The Marshal barely had time to return the rifle to the rack on the wall when Kitty Russell appeared at the door.

"Matt, I am so glad you are back," she said frantically.

He turned and looked enquiringly at her. He hardly had time to speak before she went on

"It's Doc, he's bad sick Matt. He told me he thought it was Brain Fever. He's been sick for about a week now and he's getting worse."

"Where is he?"  
"He's up in his office. I've got him in the bed in his back room there. Matt, I don't think he's going to make it." He could see she was about to burst into tears, and knew she had been taking care of their old friend, probably staying with him day and night. She looked totally drained.

"I'll be right there Kitty, let me wash some of this trail dirt off, and change into clean clothes."  
"All right Matt, please don't be long."  
She left the Marshal's office to return to Doc. Just like Matt had thought, she had been with the physician day and night for the last five days. He seemed to be getting progressively worse and for the last 24 hours had barely responded to her at all.

It was less than thirty minutes before Matt showed up at Doc's. He was horrified to see the man who had saved his life so many times. Doc was lying in the bed, his face was pale and sunken and he could see beads of sweat on his face and neck. The man did not respond as Kitty dabbed him with a cloth she had dampened with cool water.

He went over to the bed.  
"Doc?' He touched the old man's hand only to find it limp and unmoving.

He felt for a pulse, not knowing exactly what he should find but knew that the feeble irregular beat that he detected was not good. He turned to look at Kitty.

"I tried to ask him what to do or who I should get in touch with, but he got sick so fast that he never was able to tell me. Matt I am scared, supposing.. well what if he doesn't get better. We can't just let him lie there and.." She left the last words unspoken, unable to say them out loud.

Matt approached her and placed his arm around her shoulders.

"You look exhausted Kitty. I'll sit with him while you get some sleep."

He settled her into the one comfortable looking chair that occupied Doc's office and found a blanket for her. Then he settled himself in one of the straight back wooden chairs which he had pulled up to Doc's bedside. He picked up the cloth that Kitty was using and sponged the frail looking man off with it.

He was dead tired from his five day ride back from Tascosa during which he had hardly slept and felt himself nodding off several times. Doc never even moved. In his half sleep Matt thought about wiring Edgar Wilkins, the Doctor he knew from Wichita, maybe he could come and would know what to do for Doc.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**The Historians**

Chapter 2

He senses movement around him, he must have fallen asleep leaning his head and shoulders onto Doc's bed. Gradually he wakes and yet thinks he is still asleep. This is not Doc's room. He lifts his head up – or at least thinks he does – this must all be a dream. It is not Doc's bed either. There are tubes and machines all around the bed, some are making beeping noises and others whirring. Small lights are flashing silently. He looks around the room and sees Kitty asleep in the other chair – but it is not the one he settled her in last night, and the clothes she is wearing – he has never seen before. The dark grey pants drape softly over her shapely legs and hips, and the creamy color blouse looks as soft and delicate as her own skin. She has some gold bangles on her wrist and the outfit is completed by a garment he does not know how to describe – even to himself. It is like a light, soft jacket the color of prairie wheat. Her hair is down and loose, flowing gently over her shoulders. He delays taking his eyes away from his sleeping beauty.

His own attire is not familiar either, but not that different to usual. His gun belt is missing, as are the spurs he was wearing. The boots are not his own either – they are shorter and made of soft leather. He didn't think these would be strong enough to last many days on the trail. Lastly he feels for his badge – it is gone along with the vest he was wearing.

He is about to go over and wake Kitty when the door opens and a familiar figure enters. He is wearing a white coat with his name on a badge clipped to the top pocket. He looks quite at home in these surroundings that are so strange to Matt. The Marshal looks at him.

"Thomas Kedworth," he acknowledges as he goes over to shake hands with the man. "What is going on here?"

"Welcome to _my_ world Matt."

Kitty begins to stir and looks down at the strange clothes she is wearing, then she sees Dillon and remembers Thomas.

"What is going on?" She looks around in dismay, a little fear creeping into her face. She looks over at Doc who lies there in a strange bed with tubes going into his arm and bags of fluid hanging on some kind of stand, and other things she could not find words for. There are lights and beeping sounds going off. She goes over and runs her hand through Matt's arm. He pats her fingers gently.

"Don't worry Kitty," Thomas smiles at her. Doctor Adams is already doing much better. We have been giving him some high power antibiotics.. er medicines that fight infection. In about a week or so he will be back on his feet, I got a good friend of mine who specializes in treating infectious diseases to take care of him."

"I don't understand." She is still looking down at the strange clothes she is wearing. She goes over to Adams and takes his hand. She no longer feels the fever he had when they were in the back room of his office, but then where are they now?

"Come with me, I need to talk with you both," says Thomas watching her. He will be fine, they are monitoring him from the desk. Any change and someone will be here."

"But we can't leave him here alone, supposing he wakes up."

"We won't be long, I really need to talk with you both and tell you what's going on. Listen I want you to follow me, you are going to see things you are not familiar with, just trust me that it is all okay – I'll explain what's going on, but not here. No-one else must know the truth."

They leave the small room and Kitty clings tighter to Matt as Thomas escorts them down some stairs and out onto the street.

The scene that meets their eyes is overwhelming. Horses and boardwalks are replaced with things they have now words for. Kitty believes she saw a picture of a so called 'horseless carriage' in a newspaper from back east, but these carriages are moving around at alarming rates. She points to a tall red carriage, bigger that a house.

"I'll explain in a minute," Thomas exclaims, not here though, just follow me. At some signal all the vehicles stop and he leads them across the street, and down a second narrower street to a tall building. Taking some keys from his pocket he touches the fob to a small, lighted plate next to the door. There is a click and he pushes the door open. He looks towards Matt, " I hope you saw how to do that." The Marshal nods, totally bewildered but unwilling to show it. They obediently follow him along a hallway and he pushes a button on the wall. "We are going to get in a lift – in your country you call them elevators – at least you will do one day."

There is a ding of a bell and part of the wall slides open. The Doctor steps inside. "Come on in unless you want to walk up five flights of stairs. Now push that button – he points to the one with 5 on it."

Kitty reaches out her hand and tentatively pushes the one he indicated. The doors slide closed and they feel pressure on their feet as the contraption carries them up. Finally, to her relief, the doors open again. The hallway appears no different from the one they just left; even so they follow Thomas until they reach a door with 509 on it. He pulls out the keys once more and inserts one in the lock. Pushing the door open he invites them in.

Kitty sees a sitting room with a large couch, what she believes to be a kitchen is in a small area to her left. There is a window straight ahead and letting go of Matt's arm she goes to look out. The street seems far below, there is so much going on down there and she cannot understand any of it.

"I have a lot of explaining to do, I'll make us some coffee – I remember how much of it you would drink when I was in Dodge."

He takes Kitty over to the kitchen and shows her how to use the coffee maker. It does not really make sense to her, there is no fire to heat it, he just flips a switch on the wall. Good thing really – she wondered how you would bring enough wood up here to keep a fire going.

They sit on the couch with blue coffee mugs on the table in front of them. Thomas sits in the chair opposite so he can look at both of them.

"Now what I am about to tell you, you must not reveal to anyone else. If you do it could jeopardize Doctor Adams' recovery."

"I know you wondered how I got to be in Dodge City that time, where I had come from and lots of other questions I could not answer. Now I can give you some of those answers." He takes a swallow of coffee before continuing.

"There is a group called the Historians. I don't know when or where they are, but they have a responsibility to see that history takes its rightful course. There are some people who play a pivotal part in how things develop, like your president Lincoln, General Grant and many others. It is important that these people survive to perform the function that they are supposed to contribute to history. Sometimes these people get sick, get hurt or otherwise would not live to do their important task. The historians send one of us back in time to make sure that person survives, just like I was sent to Dodge, Marshal. The historians had decided you were important in the overall plan of things."

Kitty was watching him, "But you didn't know what you were supposed to do when you came to Dodge," she said.  
"No but I knew something would happen. I was picked early in my life. I had some form of congenital heart problem when I was born. I should have died, but didn't. A heart surgeon from out of town had arrived on the scene and performed a procedure that no one else knew how to do and afterwards he was never seen again. Later in life I wanted to go to Medical school but couldn't afford it. Somehow all my bills got paid. I never knew how until one day, after I graduated, a man met me and explained that I now owed the Historians a debt. To work the debt off I would be sent to different places and times to save important lives. You were about the fifth mission I was sent on. Now I have to tell you that there will be a debt to pay for Dr. Adam's life. Somehow Matt I think your particular skills will be needed and it will be a job you have to do. I can't tell you more because I don't know what it will be, or how dangerous it will be, but when it comes you will have no choice – it will be payment for Doc's life."  
"Whatever it is I will do it," said Matt as he looked at Kitty and took her hand.

There was silence for a few minutes.

"This apartment is for your use as long as you are here, don't worry about bills – they will be paid. I will also show you how to get cash money as you need to – don't worry about that. The year is 2012, by the way, and you are in London, which is way across the Atlantic Ocean from where you live. You cannot tell anyone that you are from a different time, although you can tell where you are from. I also believe that when you return to your own time you will not remember any of this."

"But you remember Dodge," Matt put in.

"That was different. I work for the historians, you are just co-opted into the program for one time. You cannot take any knowledge from here in the future back to your own time. It would mess up the natural order of things. Usually they only send people backwards in time – like me coming to Dodge, but for some reason they must think that this is worth the exception."

The three of them sipped the hot coffee. Matt and Kitty noticed that it was not as strong or as bitter as the brew they were used to, but it was hot and pleasant to the taste.

"The historians gave me instructions as to what I am to explain to you.

Firstly Doc is your Uncle, Kitty – on your mother's side. He apparently grew up here but has been to Dodge to visit a time or two. He is an old country Doctor who is retired and doesn't practice anymore. You two came here on your honeymoon and planned to stay at the small cottage he rents, somewhere in Cornwall, which is the southwestern corner of this country. I do not know what part all this will play, but I have the key here to give to you. Matt you own a cattle ranch back home, which has been in your family for years, and Kitty manages a restaurant in Dodge City for some unnamed man. She has worked there for several years. This is what they call your 'cover story' and is what you can tell anyone who asks. The truth of the matter is that Matt, you work for the United States Government. You have been co-opted by a branch of the CIA for some special mission that I know nothing about. You refer to your department as "the Agency." I have no doubt that someone will be contacting you about that."

Thomas gets up and goes over to a decorative mirror hanging on the wall in the bathroom. He takes it down to reveal a small safe. Inside are a medium sized envelope, a gun and a shoulder holster.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you much about this," he hands the gun and holster to Matt, then spreads the remaining contents of the envelope on the coffee table.

"These things are a whole lot to explain to you," he says pointing to two cell phones, a set of car keys, two plastic credit cards and a leather wallet containing a badge of some kind. There are also some documents for Matt and Kitty to read to further explain their 'cover story.'

"There have been so many changes since Dodge City of 135 years ago. For example in less than 100 years from your time, the United States of America landed a man on the moon. I know that seems impossible to you, I have no idea how you will adapt to all this."

Briefly he describes the use of the cell phones and the credit cards – "The PIN number is 1875 on both of them, that at least should be easy to remember. I think these are your credentials Matt, to replace the badge you wear I suppose." He stops to take a breath and looks at his watch. "I have to leave in a few minutes, I have a busy afternoon schedule. I suggest you fix yourselves something to eat, you'll find the refrigerator," – he points to the white cabinet in the corner of the kitchen, "is pretty well stocked, just help yourselves. Come on back to the hospital when you are ready – just be careful of the traffic when you cross the street. Be sure to use the crossing like I showed you when we came over here. I guess you can find your way back to Doc's room. Here," he hands the keys to the apartment to Matt, keep these with you, I'll have to explain the rest later.

"We'll manage," said Matt – with a lot more confidence than he felt.

Thomas left shortly after that, and Matt sat on the couch looking at the gun he had been given, it was nothing like the Colt he was used to. He was trying to figure out how the shoulder holster worked. Kitty called to him from one of the bedrooms. She had just found the bathroom complete with shower, bathtub and hot water on tap. She thought she was going to like this style of living. The shower looked especially inviting, maybe this evening.. she grinned to herself.

Returning to the kitchen she opened the door on the icebox, what was it Tom had called it? A refrigerator? An amazing invention to keep food cold and make ice continuously, she thought she would like one of these at the Long Branch. She looked inside and found some cold meats, some of which she was not familiar with, and some cheese. Putting them on a plate she goes to join Matt on the couch.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**The Historians**

Chapter 3

They made their way back to the hospital and Doc's bedside. He was still lying there motionless. It seemed that the fever had subsided. Kitty went over and lifted his hand, looking carefully at the needle going into his arm and the tube leading to it.

"What do you make of all this Matt?" she asked, gently stroking the frail hand.

Before he could reply, the door opened and a young woman in a white coat entered. She looked around the room at the occupants and smiled.

"You must be Matt and Kitty Dillon. Thomas – er Mr. Kedworth told me about you." From the way she said his name, Kitty thought there was something more than a working arrangement between the two doctors.

"Let me introduce myself, Jennifer Chaudri," she extends her hand to each in turn.

Kitty looks at this elegant woman who is probably a couple of years older than herself. She is dressed in a dark skirt that is barely long enough to reach her knees, she is wearing a light green blouse tucked into that and a white coat similar to the one Thomas was wearing. Her skin is a light coffee color and her eyes are brown with a few flecks of green. Her hair is so dark and shiny that it looks black, it would probably be shoulder length but she wore it held back to the nape of her neck by a decorative barrette. The name badge on her pocket reads Dr. Jennifer Chaudri.

She stands back and smiles at them both. "My grandfather was Indian," – she says, "oh not the kind of Indians from your country, my ancestors come from a different continent entirely." She laughs, an easy sound to listen to.

"I have been taking care of your uncle Kitty. He presented us with quite a problem. Lucky you arrived and found him when you did or he would not be alive today. I need to check him over and then I can talk to you some more."

They watched as she produced a stethoscope from her pocket, and then a small hammer.

It took her almost ten minutes to do all the listening and tapping. Finally she turned to Kitty. "He is much better now," she said pulling the bed covers back in place. "We will continue the antibiotics for a few more days, and I think about that time he will be ready to wake up. He had a bad case of meningitis, he must be a tough character."

"He's that alright," Matt agreed half laughing.

She gestured for them to be seated and perched herself on the edge of the bed. Dillon felt awkward sitting in a chair while she was still half standing. He offered her the chair but she waved it away. Things had certainly changed since his time. Women were Doctors, taking charge of the situation, telling him what to do, all very different.

The young woman looked towards Kitty.

"Thomas said the airlines lost your bags and asked me if I would take you shopping for some new clothes. He said you lived in a small town in Kansas and would get lost in London. I am free tomorrow afternoon and would be happy to do that, I enjoy going round the shops, it will be fun."

"Thank you." Kitty did not know what she meant by 'airlines' and had not even thought about the fact that all she had were the clothes she stood up in. "I will look forward to it."

They stayed with Doc for a while after Jennifer left.

Kitty sat by the bedside holding his hand and talking softly to him. Once she thought she felt him squeeze her fingers, but he never opened his eyes.

It was beginning to get dark by the time they decided to leave and return to the apartment. They negotiated the traffic, the streets, the lift and the door locks without too much difficulty.

Kitty felt tired but was intrigued by the shower she had found earlier. Hot water at the turn of a knob was intriguing. There were extra large towels, all fluffy and white folded and neatly stacked on a shelf, just waiting to be used.

0o0o0o0

Matt was sitting on the couch in the living room, once again looking at the gun he had been given. He heard his name called and went to the bedroom and the connecting bathroom off of it. There was Kitty under the shower, warm water dripping off of her body.

"Come on Matt, get those clothes off and come join me, there is room enough for two so we might as well enjoy this while we are here."

He looked at her through the glass. The steam had made it opaque in places, but he could see her outline easily.

"Matt," she called again, "hurry up." It amazed her how shy he was about removing his clothes. How many times in the last few years had they spent the night together in her room above the Long Branch? Even so she usually had to undo buttons and ease the shirt from his shoulders to get him started. She turned the water off and opened the glass door.

"I'm going to pull you in here, clothes and all in a minute."

She watches as he slowly throws shirt, pants and underclothes in a corner and steps into this fantastic device to enjoy the feel of the clean warm water falling over them. She hands him the soap.

"Wash my back," she instructs. Gingerly he begins to lather her skin with the delicate smelling soap. The water makes long rivers that course from her soft hair and cascade down her back. He cannot help but notice how they follow her curves and finally fall over like waterfalls to splash off of her legs.

"See that is not so difficult is it." She smiles, taking the soap from him. "Your turn." Using the soap in one hand and a washcloth in the other she rubs his chest and back. She sees the effect it is having on her lawman, and finally turns the water off and opens the door and reaches out to grab two of the large fluffy towels.

Together they dry most of the water from their skin and return to the bedroom where the half light of evening is coming through the shaded windows to make dark shadows fall across the bed.

He stretches down to move back the covers before the towels fall to the floor, then reaching for her he lies back on the bed pulling her down on top of him.

She smiles as her lips brush his. "Welcome to 2012 cowboy."

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**The Historians**

Chapter 4

Kitty had gone with Jennifer, shopping for new clothes. Matt sat with Doc for the longest time, but his old friend did not stir. One of the nurses came in and swopped out a new bag of liquid for the empty one on the stand then checked the connection to the needle in Doc's arm. She left and soon Matt decided to make his way back to the apartment. Halfway along the hospital corridor leading to the stairs, someone came up behind him.

"Dillon?" a voice asked softly.

The Marshal spun around reaching for the gun that should be on his hip. He saw a blond headed man standing there.

"Whoa," said the man holding out his hands palms up. "I think we are on the same team. My name's Allen Cranbourne. We need to go somewhere we can talk."

Matt led the way back to the apartment on Bowling Green Place. By this time he had become quite comfortable with crossing the street, the electronic lock, the lift and even the coffee maker.

He brought two of the blue coffee mugs to the table in front of the couch, and pulled the chair up so they could sit facing each other.

"Tell me what's going on," he said.

Cranbourne took a mouthful of the coffee.

"We have a problem, and it involves your country just as much as mine. That is why your agency agreed to send you here, that together with the fact that they think you have some special skills that will be useful. I understand that you have been told very little, so I will start as near the beginning as I can. It looks like we will be working together so I'll tell you everything I know."

He took a folded map from his pocket and opened it onto the table.

"This area," he pointed to the red mark on the map, "is where we think the whole scheme is run from. The town is called Tintagel."

Cranbourne stood up to remove his jacket and Matt saw that beneath it he had a gun and holster similar to the one he had been given. At least he now had an idea how that worked. He said nothing but listened to the story the other man was relating. Many of the words were not familiar to him, they did not belong to his time, but he tried to remember them so he could ask Thomas later. If this was what it took to save Doc's life, he would do whatever was asked of him.

"There are a lot of legends surrounding the town of Tintagel," Cranbourne continued, "from the knights of King Arthur to the smugglers of the eighteenth century who brought their boats ashore off the rugged coastline, it has always been a place of mystery." He took another mouthful of coffee before continuing.

"We think the smuggling has started up again, though this time it's a lot more serious than the brandy, pepper and other spices of the old days. Now it is weapons, heavy weapons, maybe even ground to air missiles or worse. The terrorists from the Middle East want to get a foothold here really bad. They took a leaf out of the Columbian drug smugglers book and developed their own submarines.

We don't know who is supplying them, and we have never been able to track them once they land here so we don't know where they are going. From intelligence we know that this stuff is arriving somewhere in this area and then getting distributed. There are active groups or cells here in the UK just waiting for enough weapons to launch a big campaign of terror. The same is happening in your country Dillon, I'm sure you are aware of that. We need to track this stuff down before they are ready to strike. Tintagel is the only lead we have."

"What do you think I can add to this investigation?"  
"It's not me Dillon, apparently your bosses and mine got together and decided to team us up."

"I will do what I can. Can we go see this place," Matt points to the map "Tintagel you called it? How far is it from here."

"Not far, about 250 miles. Your Agency must think highly of you, they are giving us use of their private jet for the day, so if we leave early tomorrow morning, we'll be back by supper time."

Matt had no idea how anyone could travel that far in one day, and what was a 'jet', more questions for Thomas.

Matt produced the gun he had been given, from a drawer where he had placed it.

"Uhmm, this gun is different from the one I am used to, I'd like to practice with it before we get going."

"Certainly. I didn't realize but I suppose you couldn't board the plane with a gun without blowing your cover. Come on we'll go over to Scotland Yard.

They have a firing range in the basement; we can borrow it for a while. Do you have your credentials?" Matt took the small leather wallet with badge and warrant card that Thomas had given him, and put it in his pocket.

"We'll get a taxi over there. The Yard won't give us a problem about using their facilities." Cranbourne puts his jacket on and leads the way.

Meantime Kitty met with Jennifer outside the back entrance to the hospital planning to go exploring the shops of London's West End.

Jennifer was especially excited about a store from America that had recently opened up on New Bond Street.

"Victoria's Secret has finally arrived here, now we can buy all that sexy underwear." She looked at Kitty, "I guess that store is not new to you."

"Oh we don't have it where I live either," she remarked truthfully. The idea of Mr. Jonas's store selling sexy underwear made her smile.

Jennifer led them across Great Maze Pond and up to Street, Kitty was terrified by all the traffic and stuck close to her new friend, just hoping not to get hit by one of these so called cars. "It'll be easier to get a taxi here." Jennifer explained. She flagged one down and they both climbed inside. Kitty was terrified at how fast this conveyance travelled through the winding backstreets. It was quite terrifying at times, but she managed to keep her composure, although she felt her palms becoming hot and sweaty. The multitude of stores and the variety of goods for sale was almost overwhelming. She tried to remember what Thomas had told them and not to let on that all this was new to her. Jennifer was very observant however and could not help but notice the bewildered look on her friend's face.

"Thomas did tell me that you lived out in the country and that there were no big cities nearby, so I imagine this is a little overpowering. I remember the first time I came to London, I wanted to run away and hide from all the crowds, but it won't take long for you to adjust."

Kitty wondered about that last statement.

The taxi dropped them off outside the new store on Bond Street and Kitty felt compelled to stay as close to her new friend as possible as they walked inside.

Jennifer was excited about all the garments they had on display. Kitty was shocked, no pantaloons or corsets, everything so colorful and she could not even think of a word to describe the way the garments covered so very little.

Jennifer laughed kindly at her. "Most of this stuff is just for fun. You know, you'd wear it to entertain that good-looking man of yours. They do have bras and panties you can wear every day. There are four floors to this store so we should find something"

She went over to a display table and picked up some lacy panties with frills around the legs. "I think these might interest Thomas," she giggled.

"Have you known him long?" Kitty asked.

"Oh we met each other around the hospital about a year or so ago, but I guess you'd say we've only been dating for about three months."

The women wandered around the store picking up and looking at many different things.

Kitty found some night attire that she thought Matt would certainly find interesting and also some panties and bra's that would be nice to have.

"Come on Kitty – you will need more than that," cajoled her friend, but she felt guilty about spending money that was not hers. Who was paying for all this?

That thought brought something else to her mind. Matt was going to get involved in a job that he knew nothing about. A slight shiver went through her. She hoped nothing bad would happen along the way.

Watching carefully as Jennifer paid for her purchases she got out her card, the one Thomas had told her was made of something called plastic. When her turn came she pushed it into the machine as her friend had done and entered the so-called PIN number – somehow it worked and the girl behind the register wrapped her purchases and placed them in a pretty pink bag. They left Victoria Secret and walked back up Bond Street towards Oxford Street. Kitty found the side walks to be more crowded than Dodge on a Saturday night.

They reached Oxford Street and turned left. Jennifer pointed out several of the larger department stores and headed them towards the one called Selfridges.

This store seemed so large she would have got lost in there if she was by herself. Jennifer guided her through floors of dresses, pants and jackets, encouraging her to enjoy herself. She bought some clothes for Matt, even though it was difficult to find something to fit him. They did find some undergarments for men – called boxer shorts, and picked out a few pairs with lively colors.

Kitty couldn't think of what he might say when she gave them to him. She did find him some pants called Jeans – 'wranglers' is what Jennifer called them – she said they were for cowboys – so that should work. She also found him a couple of shirts. She noticed that men didn't wear hats here, and had only seen one or two ladies sporting them either.

Finally they went to a small tearoom and after some light refreshment there, they got a taxi to take them back home. Her packages almost filled the back seat and Jennifer helped her back up to the apartment with them.

"I have to get back to the hospital now Kitty, I have a couple of patients to check on. I'll catch up with you later."

Kitty was alone. She started to look at all the clothes, laid them out on the bed. It was then she thought about Matt and hoped he would be back soon. She thought she would go check on Doc.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**The Historians**

Chapter 5

Once they were down to street level Cranbourne hailed a taxi. Matt was as amazed as Kitty had been with the speed at which the vehicle took them through the winding streets. Cranbourne laughed, "I know you Americans are used to wide straight roads. Here our streets are not laid out on a grid, it seems like every time this city is destroyed the people build it back on the same layout as before. Most London cabbies," he indicates the driver, "know all these back streets so they can get around easier and avoid the delays on the main routes. Just hang on and we'll be there in a minute. Its just over on Broadway in Westminster."

Matt did hang on until the cab stopped outside an imposing building that must have ten or fifteen floors according to his estimation. They walked in through big glass doors and Cranbourne showed his badge and warrant. Dillon did the same, trying not to appear bewildered by all that was going on around him. The guard looked at their identifications and disappeared to a back room for a few minutes. When he returned he had a brief word with Cranbourne and then escorted them to one of those lifts. They descended through several floors before the door slid open again.

"Welcome to the best equipped firing range in London, Dillon. Not many people know it is here."

They walk partway down a long hallway and entered a gallery on the right.

The area was only about twelve feet wide, but probably about hundred and fifty feet long. Matt looked down the length of the range and saw targets in the distance. He is more accustomed to practicing out on the prairie with old whisky bottles propped up on a fence. These targets where so much further away than he was used to. His colt would not be accurate – even if it could fire a bullet that far. Now he had to he tell this man that he had no idea how to load or fire this gun he was given? He decided on honesty.

"Allen, I have never used a gun like this before, you are going to have to show me."  
"No problem, I figured you would be used to different weapons. What do you usually carry."  
Difficult question.

"Well I have a colt pistol that I kinda like."  
"Oh yes I have seen a couple of their latest automatics – nice weapon."

Matt knew they were not picturing the same gun, but at least the man asked no further questions.

Cranbourne picked up Matt's gun, "This is a Glock, nice workmanship. I usually use a Walther P22 myself. Its not new but I like the feel of it."

"You load the magazine like this." He picked up a black box-like object from a shelf under a small table and clicked it into place on the grip. Laying the gun down on the table he picked up two sets of noise cancellers and handed one to Dillon. Matt watched as the man put one set over his ears and he then did the same. Almost instantly he heard Cranbourne's voice. "These are fitted with audio so we can talk," the voice said.

Cranbourne waved his hand and from somewhere a target appeared about half way down the range. Cranbourne raised his gun and fired. He hit it a little off centre.

"Your turn," the man stepped back. Matt started to aim using his usual one hand technique. "No you'll have to use two hands on that one, too much recoil." Cranbourne stepped forward again to demonstrate. Matt nodded and tried again. His first shot went wide, but after three or four goes he got the feel of the gun. Then he began hitting the center of the target easily.

Cranbourne stepped forward and waved again. A new target appeared, further in the distance.

"Let's have a competition," he told Matt after they have been shooting for about fifteen minutes. Matt was impressed with this gun. The aim was much more accurate than his colt peacemaker, and over much greater distances too. Just as well they don't have these in Dodge City, every gunslinger would be carrying one, he thought.

The two men fired at the targets for about half an hour more. By that time Matt was as good, if not better than Allen Cranbourne. They declared the competition a draw.

"You need a better holster for that Matt. Follow me down the hallway here and we'll find you one."

They entered another room. "This is the Master of Arms, he'll fix you up."

An older man appeared, asked no questions, sized Matt up with his eyes, and looked at the Glock. He went into a back room and returned with a small box.

"Try this for size."

Matt opened the box and removed the shoulder holster, he was glad that he had figured out how the other one worked. This new one was much better. It felt like leather and fitted both him and the weapon securely.

"Charge it to The Agency." Cranbourne told the man as they were leaving.

Both men put their jackets back on before heading up in the lift.

"Okay Matt, I'll get a cab and drop you off home on my way back to the office. I'll call you in the morning and we'll get an early start."

"That will be fine. Thank you for your help."  
"Don't mention it. You did well with that gun this afternoon."

"Guess I've had a lot of practice." Matt laughed at the thought of the number of shootouts he had taken part in during his few years as Marshal of Dodge City.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**The Historians**

Chapter 6

Kitty was opening all her packages and hanging the new clothes in the two closets she had found in the bedroom. There was also a chest of drawers for items that would not hang.

She heard the door open.

"That you Matt?"

"Yes Kitty," he headed towards the bedroom to find her. "Who else were you expecting?"

"Looks like you had fun this afternoon," he comments as he surveys the clothes still on the bed and in the open closet.

"I got some stuff for you too, I figured you would need a change of clothes before long."

She shows him the 'Wranglers', the dress pants and the two shirts she found for him. Then she giggles and hands him the boxer shorts.

He looks at them from different angles, carefully examining the elasticated waist.

"They're called boxer shorts," she tells him. "I have it on good authority that all the best guys wear them." He returns her look.

"Mebe," he says, not convinced. "Whatever happened to my union suit?"

"They don't have those here. Thank goodness," she added. She thought about the little outfit she had hidden and intended to wear tonight and smiled.

A buzzer interrupted their discussion. To begin with they looked at each other, then Kitty remembered how Thomas had shown them how to let a visitor in the front door. She pressed the small button on the device on the wall and the small screen lit up. She could see their friend standing there and pressed the green button to let him in. Shortly afterwards he reached their apartment door and as he entered they noticed that he was carrying a large flat box.

"Pizza," he answered their unasked question.

He opened the box and the smell was enticing. They sat around the table and watched as Thomas showed them how to eat the famous food. It didn't take long before the box was empty.

"I need to explain some of these other gadgets to you before we go much further. and at some point I am going to have to teach you to drive, Matt."

Taking the envelope from the safe once more, he shows them how to use the cell phones and programs the devices with several useful numbers, including each others. He explains texting and tells them how useful it can be. The last thing he needs to explain is an ipad. Maybe that should wait.

Matt and Kitty are experimenting sending texts.  
"How does all this work," asks Matt. "How do my messages get to Kitty's…" he has to think of the word, "phone."  
"I have no idea," Thomas replies, "but it does and it makes life much easier."

"One other question, whet is a private jet?"

Thomas laughs, "How did you come across that?"  
Matt explains how he met Allen Cranbourne and how they are going to a place called Cornwall tomorrow.

"He told me it was about 250 miles from here, but we would go there and back in a day – by private jet."  
Thomas put his head in his hands, grinning. "I have no idea how to explain this to you. Now I understand why the Historians don't usually send people forward in time. About 25 or 30 years after I was there in Dodge with you, the Wright brothers, I believe in your state of North Carolina achieved powered flight. They actually built a machine that a man could sit in and fly. From there it was not long before airplanes got bigger and better. People could fly from one country to another, even one continent to another. The next advance was the jet engine which was much more powerful than the propeller engines used up until then. You are going to fly to Cornwall Matt.

"You mean leave the ground."  
Thomas nodded. "Just pretend you have done it many times before. In your country, people fly from city to city all the time, so it wouldn't be something new to you. And remember you would have had to fly to get here if the Historians hadn't arranged it."

"I'll do my best. We were planning to walk over to the hospital and check on Doc."

"I'm going that way myself. As far as I know he is doing well and Jennifer thinks he will be waking up soon. By the way," he turns to Kitty, "did you ladies enjoy your shopping this afternoon."

She smiles to herself thinking of the little nighttime outfit she bought. "Oh yes we certainly did."

Doc was still asleep when they got to his room. Kitty took his hand and started talking to him.

"Doc it's Kitty and Matt, aren't you gonna wake up and talk to us."

It seemed he stirred a little, squeezed Kitty's hand, but did not say anything. At least he wasn't fevered now and seemed to be improving.

They stayed about an hour and then headed back to the apartment.

Kitty put her hand through Matt's arm as they crossed the street, strange she thought, that all this stuff was beginning to seem normal to them both.

"So how was your afternoon?" She asked him. "And what is this about flying?"

He told her about Allen Cranbourne, how they would be going to a place where smugglers used to hang out. He would be leaving early in the morning but should be back by evening. She couldn't help but worry. Matt didn't understand the ways of this world they found themselves in.

"I'll be fine," he assures her. "Allen is a good man. Just stay with Doc in case he wakes up and starts asking questions."

She smiles just imagining what their friend will say when he finds out when and where he is.

The apartment seems warm and welcoming when they return. Kitty had found a bottle of brandy in a small cupboard in the sideboard. There were brandy snifters in one of the kitchen cabinets. She poured two shots and brought them to the couch.

They sat sipping the amber liquid, gradually winding down after a hectic day for each of them. Matt was somewhat excited – but at the same time a little concerned about this flying he was going to do tomorrow.

After a while he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him.

"This'll all work out just fine Kitty. Don't worry – we'll be back in Dodge before you know it."

They sat there for a while – each in their own thoughts.

"I'm going to get ready for bed Matt. All that shopping made me tired."  
"I'll be there in a minute."

He sits thinking as he takes the last few sips of brandy. What could he possibly know that would help these people. It seemed that things had changed so much since his time, he felt so far behind. Finally he puts his glass down and heads for the bedroom.

He opens the door quietly to find dimmed lights and Kitty emerging from the bathroom wearing something he can barely think of words to describe.

"You like it Matt? Jennifer said it was something fun to entertain my good looking man."

The little silky jacket tied with a small string across her cleavage only just reached her hips, and as she swirled around it flared open to reveal some very scanty garment that barely covered the essentials of life.

Kitty was pleased to note that he was at a loss for words.

"I.. er .. hope you're not planning to leave the bedroom in that."

"No way Mister, you and I are staying right here. I am thinking that 2012 has a lot to be said for it."

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

**The Historians**

Chapter 7

Matt was up early next morning. Cranbourne had told him to bring his gun just in case and wear a warm coat, because it could be cold and windy on top of those Cornish Cliffs.

He had looked in the closet that Kitty had assigned to him and found a brown jacket – similar to his trail coat. It fit perfectly even though he was wearing the shoulder holster with the Glock. Strange – he hadn't noticed it the night before. It seemed to be cut to allow a little extra room for the weapon under the left arm. He found the "wranglers" she had bought for him and they fit well too. He wondered how Kitty could always pick the right size when he had the hardest time finding clothes to fit.

He made some coffee, and was just about to take a cup to Kitty when his phone rang. It startled him to begin with, but he remembered how to answer it. He touched the green button on the screen.

"Hi Matt, it's Allen, I'm down here with a taxi to take us to city airport."

"I'll be right there." He remembered to touch the red bar at the bottom of the screen to disconnect the call and slipped the phone in his pocket. He took the cup of coffee he had poured for Kitty and took it to the bedroom.

"I have to go now, I'll see you later. Maybe I can call you on this phone – I'll try." They exchange a kiss and he heads on down to the street to meet up with Cranbourne.

The taxi started its chaotic journey as soon as Matt had closed the door and sat down. Cranbourne began a running commentary telling him about the roads they were traveling on.

"We are going over Waterloo Bridge now." Matt looked out the window of the cab and saw the river beneath him. "It is interesting in that this bridge was started in the 1930's to replace the old bridge that was constructed in the early 1800's. Women did most of the work because the men had gone off to fight in the Second World War. That's the Thames, you should have seen it lit up with fireworks when we celebrated the Queens Diamond Jubilee." They turned right along The Embankment and he pointed out Somerset House and other landmarks. There was not so much traffic at this hour of the morning – it was barely daylight – and the cab was travelling even faster than the one they rode in yesterday. They passed along the East India Dock Road and Allen was explaining how London used to be a great port, but most of this area was destroyed by the bombing of the second world war.

The cabbie slid open the glass that separated him from his passengers,

"Which part of the airport you wanna go to gov?" he asked

Cranbourne leaned forward and gave him directions.

They arrived at the biggest building Matt had ever seen. It had the words "Hanger 4" printed across it.

Cranbourne paid off the cabbie and started walking towards a small door in the side of the enormous building. There was a man behind the desk who he spoke to for a few minutes.

"They're all ready for you, sir, go on through."

He led the way through a door at the back of the room and once outside Matt

saw this strange object straight ahead of him. There was a gap in the side and a set of steps leading down. He followed Cranbourne as he led the way up and into the craft. The seats were large and looked to be made of soft leather. A man in a uniform came and told them his name was Jonathan Taylor and he was the pilot, at their disposal for the day. He indicated a small cabinet to one side of the cabin, which, he told them, was fully stocked, and once they reached cruising altitude they could help themselves. Their flight path had been filed and cleared and it would take about an hour to get there.

250 miles in one hour, I have to see this thought Matt.

They took seats, He watched as Cranbourne buckled some kind of belt from the seat around his waist, and he did the same.

A few minutes passed and everything began to vibrate as the noise from what he presumed were the jets built up.

Cranbourne looked at him and smiled, "Yes you hear that a lot more on these small jets than on the big commercial ones– but it'll be fine once we're airborne."

Matt watched out the window as the giant bird began to move, he watched as they turned to face a long straight road, and then they got faster and faster. His heart was racing. He kept glancing at Cranbourne who sat reading a newspaper like nothing was happening. Then the sense of speed gave way to a different sensation as the front of the plane tilted up and they began to climb. Matt watched out the window as the city below got smaller and smaller. He could see green fields and the river as it wound its way to the ocean. Soon clouds got in the way and the ground was visible no more.

There was a pinging sound. He looked around.

Cranbourne undid the buckle from around his waist and got up to investigate the small cabinet.

"There's some coffee here in a thermos if you'd like some, and some sandwiches, or fruit. Just help yourself."

Somehow Matt did not feel like anything right now, he wasn't sure how his stomach was handling this.

"No thanks I'll wait a while, I had coffee before I left this morning."

It was almost an hour later when the pilot told them to sit back in their seats and fasten the safety belts, they would be landing shortly.

There was a car waiting for them when they landed.

"Good, they left the keys in the ignition for me and a full tank of petrol – er .. gas in your language, I think. Come on let's get going."

Matt had thought the drive through London's streets was hair raising. These roads where many times worse, narrow winding lanes with tall walls and hedges on both sides.

There were many places not wide enough for two cars to pass and Cranbourne was driving like he was trying copy the jet they had just arrived in. He seemed oblivious to the distress he was causing his passenger and embarked upon telling some of the history of the area.

"We are going to Tintagel. It is a small town perched high on cliffs forming part of the northern coast of Cornwall. It is famous for an old castle which, legend has it, was once occupied by King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Probably not true – but it makes a great story. We are only about 20 miles away, we'll be there soon.

Several times they screeched to a stop and had to pull into the side so a car going in the other direction could pass.

After a while Matt relaxed – thinking that his driver led a charmed existence.

"That's Tintagel Castle I was telling you about." He drove on a little further and then pulled off into and open area. "We'll park here and walk over to the cliffs. I'll show you the area where we think they are bringing the stuff ashore. We cannot figure how they are getting it up these cliffs though."

They walk across an open grassy area until they reach the edge of the cliffs and look over into the ocean. The tide was in and they looked down on waves crashing against the rocks. For Matt the cliffs and the ocean where far removed from the scenery he was used to in Kansas. The wind was blowing continuously and he could taste the salt in the air. This was certainly not terrain he was used to. Looking further along the cliffs there was a smooth sandy area where the cliffs gave way to a gentler landscape. He remembered something about tides. "How far does the water recede at low tide?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, but I do know that in these parts the deeper water comes fairly close to shore. Matt looked again at the scene in the other direction. "Looks like you could walk down to the water over there."

"There is a goat trail, but I don't think men could carry much stuff up and down. You have to go further along to find a decent foot path – and that comes up into the village so would be too visible."

"Lets walk over and have a look. You reckon they bring this stuff in at night?"

"They'd have to or else they would be seen."

"That means they can only land here when the tide is lower and it is dark. The timing has to be right."

"We can look up the tide tables on the internet."

Matt thought a minute – internet – that was something Thomas had tried to explain.  
They had walked about half a mile and further round the headland the scenery changed again. Matt was looking along the beach towards the town.

"What is going on down there?"

Oh that's old Ben Bardee. He brings his donkeys and mules down to the beach so the kids can ride and he makes a little money. He also has a small

farm out towards Bodmin where he puts on a wild west show every now and again and lets folks pretend they are cowboys. You know, like the old wild west days of your country. He rents out cottages and people come for the weekend to make believe they are riding the range or whatever."

Matt nodded. He couldn't understand why people from this time would do that.

Cranbourne looked at him.

"Westerns were quite popular here at one time. Not so much now but there is still a fascination, and Ben Bardee makes money from it. He's got that whole place set up like a ranch. Calls it the Bar D."

They walked along further and Matt could clearly see what Allen had referred to as a goat path. He wanted to see where it went.

He walked along the cliff edge looking for where it would emerge onto the top of the hill here. Finally he found what he was looking for. He bent down to look at the sandy soil that was exposed by the small trail. No sign of goats at all but there were other tracks. On this windblown headland though, he could not be certain.

"How far is this place Bodmin?"

"About 10 or 12 miles buy road, less as the crow flies."  
"Can we go there?" Matt hated the idea of travelling in that car again through these narrow winding lanes, but needs must.

"Tell you what there's a very old Pub there called the Jamaica Inn. Used to be used by smugglers. It's about 400 years old. Bit touristy now – but they do a good lunch I hear. We'll head that way."

It took about an hour for them to arrive at the Jamaica Inn. It was a small inn with low ceilings and a rather motley clientele. There was a large fireplace and hearth where logs burned and people gathered around it with glass mugs full of beer. There was a small table near a window, and Cranbourne indicated for Matt to sit there. He went up to the bar and returned with 2 beers. He sat down putting one in front of Matt. "Cheers," he said raising his glass. Matt did the same. The beer was very different to that at the Long Branch. It had a stronger flavor, and a slightly creamy texture. Very pleasant.

"I ordered the special for lunch, beef stew with potatoes and carrots – I hope that is ok."  
"Sounds good to me."

The food arrived shortly and the men ate appreciatively.

"I'd like to see this Bar D ranch, can we drive by it?"

Cranbourne checked his watch. "Yes we can do it fine, then we'll go back and get the plane to take us home. I told you we'd be back in time for supper."

Matt had become more accepting of this wild ride through the lanes of Cornwall. It was not far to the Bar D. Matt looked at it in amazement. The entranceway could have come from a ranch in the Texas of his time. The house he could see was also a typical style for the era. To one side was a large barn and parked to one side of that were several very large vehicles.

"What are those?" he pointed.

"They are horse boxes – used to transport the animals. Ben will take his wanna be cowboys out riding over Bodmin Moor which his property backs onto. It's like one of your national Parks. Sadly most of his riders get tired after a couple of hours so he leaves a couple of horse boxes out there, loads up the horses and drives them home then brings his 'cowboys' home on a small bus."

"How often does he do that?"

No particular schedule, whenever he gets enough customers I suppose."  
Matt nods thoughtfully.

"If it's OK with you we need to be heading back now. I told you we would get back in time for supper"

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**The Historians**

Chapter 8

Matt was getting used to car riding by now. He remembered that Thomas had said he would teach him to drive. He needed to learn soon. He had some ideas of his own about this case but needed time to think about them, and a little more time to look around Tintagel. He put his hand in his coat pocket and felt the phone that Thomas had given him. Perhaps he could make it work.

Just as he had been shown he woke it up and slid his finger across the screen. Finding the symbol for phone he hit the star for favorites and there was Kitty's name, along with Thomas and Allen Cranbourne. He touched Kitty's name and in a few seconds heard it ringing.

"Hello Matt." It was amazing to hear her voice. How did this thing work? How could someone's voice travel this far? The strange little box in his hand was smooth and weighed barely anything, but it held such mystery.

"We are on our way home now. We're still in the car, but driving back to get the jet. Allen says we'll be back in London in time for supper."

"That's good, we have plans for the evening. Thomas and Jennifer want to show us some of the night life here."

Matt could have made some comments about his own idea of 'night life' but Cranbourne was sitting there so he refrained.

"Did you have a good day?" he asked.

"Yes, I spent some time with Doc and he woke up for a while. I'll tell you later. Hurry home – I miss you."

They made good time and were back in London by late afternoon. The sun set early this time of year and already the sky was glowing red in the west as they landed back at City Airport. As usual, somehow a taxi was waiting to take them into the city, by now dusk was setting in and as they crossed back over Waterloo Bridge the city seemed outlined in lights as offices and buildings were lit up and the street lights were coming on.

Matt needed to get some cash, Cranbourne had been paying for everything up to now, he said that The Agency would reimburse him, but Matt needed a little money in his pocket anyway. Cranbourne had the taxi drop Matt off near the hospital – "There's a cashpoint just around the corner there. Oh," he went on to explain – "I think you call them ATM's or something. I'll phone you in a couple of days and we can talk some more about the case."

Matt went around the block towards the front entrance to the Hospital and found the so-called cashpoint in a wall. Impossible to think that this machine could replace Mr. Bodkin – but it worked just fine, he swiped his card, entered his PIN number and selected £50.00 for the amount. The machine promptly handed him his money. Like Kitty, he had no idea where the money was coming from, but Thomas had told them it was all taken care of, just like when he had been in Dodge. He too had no idea how or where the money came from, but it did.

Kitty was waiting for him when he arrived at the apartment.

They exchanged welcoming kisses and Matt removed his jacket and gun holster and made his way to the couch. Kitty went to the little kitchen area and put the coffee pot on.

"Doc is doing much better," she called out. "He woke up and recognized me this morning. He looked around some but didn't say too much."

"That is good news."

"So how was your day and that jet?"

"You just couldn't imagine Kitty. Flying is a little scary at first – but then it is the most amazing thing. You look down at the ground and see the buildings get smaller and smaller till eventually you are above the clouds and look down on them too. There is no way I can describe it."

"Tonight we are going out to eat with Thomas and Jennifer. They want to show us some of London, so go get cleaned up. I left some clothes for you on the bed."

Taxi riding was becoming quite common place for both of them now. Matt paid off the driver and looked around.

Thomas explained, "This place is called Platform. It is actually in one of the archways under London Bridge Station. The location is old but the restaurant has only been here about a year and is creating quite a stir. They offer a variety of food – if you feel homesick you could try the Longhorn Ribeye, but there are plenty of alternatives. Jennifer and I ate lunch here one day not so long ago, and it was good."

Kitty and Matt were enthralled with the place, the atmosphere and the food were outstanding. He of course had to have the steak, but kitty went for the spinach stuffed saddle of lamb.

After the meal was over and they had finished coffee, the four friends left to walk along the south bank of the river. The cool air and the myriad of lights reflecting on the water made a romantic setting.

Kitty noticed that it wasn't long before their two friends were holding hands, then finally Thomas had his arm around Jennifer's shoulder. Kitty smiled at Matt and then they did the same.

"There's an old pub down here called The Market Porter. In the daytime there is a large fruit and vegetable market right next to it, that's how the pub got its name. There are several old pubs in the area – all with timbers and old wood paneling, you might like to try some of them."

It was about a fifteen-minute walk, but well worth it. Very different from the saloons of Dodge City, or for that matter any other town Matt had seen. The place was crowded, no one was really drunk, just a lot of people socializing in groups. No barroom brawls or gunfights, just folks having a good time.

They found a small table made from a beer barrel in a corner, Thomas brought some drinks over and the two ladies became engrossed in a discussion about clothes. Matt turns to Thomas. "You know you said you would teach me to drive, I need to do that."

"Here in London is not a good idea, but I have a little cottage out in Hertfordshire and I am supposed to be off this weekend, so how about we all go down there. I think Jennifer is working on Saturday but she can join us later."

There was a buzzing sound and Thomas reached in his pocket and excused himself to head outside to take a call. He returned a few minutes later.

"I have to go, someone in A&E – ER in your language," he smiled to Matt and Kitty, almost forgetting that they came from a time before such specialties were thought of. "He got his chest caved in in a traffic accident, I need to go see if I can fix it. Matt can you see that Jennifer gets back alright?" The young couple exchange a brief kiss and he leaves."

Jennifer shakes her head, "Happens to one of us all the time," she says with resignation. "It makes it difficult to get much time together."

"I know what you mean," Kitty laughs looking at Matt. "Go get another round for us."

The three of them sit talking for another hour.

Matt listens vaguely to the women's conversation for a while but his mind drifts back to what he had seen earlier in the day. He wants to return to Cornwall and take a closer look at the Bar D "ranch". Somehow he knows it is involved. To him it seems the obvious solution. He needs to talk some more with Cranbourne. About a week in that little town should uncover a lot of things. Maybe Kitty and he could go down there as honeymooners and not create too much attention. Allen had told him it was a tourist town so they should fit in quite well. He remembered Thomas mentioning a cottage there; he even had the keys, and a car. He had to learn to drive and soon.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

**The Historians**

Chapter 9

It was Friday and Matt and Kitty sat in Doc's room at the hospital. He had started to wake up more fully earlier that morning and was now asking a lot of questions about what was going on. He kept looking at the needle in his arm, the wires hooked to his chest and the multitude of machines around the bed all of which either had small flashing red lights or sounded a variety of beeps and other noises

"I can't explain them to you Doc," Matt told him. "I do know that somehow all this was necessary to keep you alive."

He had explained to Doc how he had been real sick. "You told Kitty you had brain fever. We thought we were going to lose you, then somehow we found ourselves here. This is Guy's Hospital in London and the year is 2012. This is Thomas Kedworth's time."

It took Doc a while to digest that information. Strangely enough he had heard of Guy's. he had read a paper by Thomas Hodgkin who had described a malignant blood disorder sometime in the early 1800's, he had been a pathologist at this hospital.

"What I am trying to tell you Doc is that you need to be careful what you say. Thomas is the only one who knows the truth, so just try to fit in."

The elderly physician grunted a promise that he would do his best, and Matt was about to make some comment when Jennifer appeared at the door. Doc's face immediately brightened at the sight of the elegant young lady.

"Well Dr. Adam's it is nice to see that you are finally awake," she smiles at him and introduces herself.

"How about you two leave us alone now?" she says to Kitty and Matt, "I need to check on your Uncle here."  
"Uncle?" the older man yells.

"Yes. Uncle, and you'd better remember that." Kitty says as she leans over and kisses him on the cheek. "We'll be back later."

They head back to the apartment to get some lunch.

"Kitty I need to go with Thomas tomorrow so he can teach me to drive. I think you should stay here with Doc and make him behave. Jennifer is coming down on Sunday and you could travel with her then. We'll all be back here Monday so he'll only be here by himself for one day."  
"All right Matt, that will work, but there is something else isn't there?"  
"Yes, I need to go back to Cornwall. There is some stuff I need to check on.

Fact is I would probably attract less attention if you were with me."

"What are you thinking?"

Matt stands up and takes the dishes they have been eating off of and puts them in the sink. The coffee is made and ready to pour. He fills two of the blue mugs and brings them back to the table.

"Allen Cranbourne seems to think someone is running guns through that little town he took me to. Tintagel, it was called. I have an idea how they might be doing it but I need to check it out. I need to spend a few days there. Thomas had said there is a cottage down there all ready for us, he even gave me the key. There is also some kind of a car there, we have the key to that too. I think we should go and try it out."

"But what about Doc – we can't just leave him here alone."

"I thought about that too. I'll talk to Thomas about it and see if he has any ideas."

0oo0oo0oo0

Matt and Thomas boarded the train at King's Cross Station. It was headed for Peterborough, but they would get off at Letchworth, a small country town in Hertfordshire

"Actually the town is not that old," Thomas was telling him, "it was designed as a so called Garden City in the early 1900's. I love those old country thatched roofed cottages, so nice to look at but a lot of upkeep so I found something a little more modern than that. The setting is quiet, which I like, and I have a housekeeper who watches the place while I am not there and keeps food in the refrigerator for when I come home. It is also big enough that if Jennifer and I make a go of things, we could raise a family there. On the fast train it is barely 45 minutes to London so commuting is not a problem."

Matt looked out of the train window as they left London. Once they got clear of the city, green fields – some with horses, sheep or other livestock and some with crops, were visible on both sides.

The train moved smoothly and fast, with none of the soot and smoke he associated with trains. Even the seats were comfortable. He thought he could get used to this life – but Thomas had assured him that he and his friends would be returning to Dodge once his job was finished, "and all of this will fade from your memory, I think," he added.

Matt looked out the window again, he needed to get in touch with Cranbourne, there were a couple of ideas he wanted to work on. Meantime he had to learn to drive.

Barely an hour passed before they arrived at Thomas's cottage. It was small enough to be warm and inviting but backed up on to cultivated fields that gave an impression of space and openness. Unlike the prairie this part of England had gently rolling hills, fertile soil and for somewhere in such northern latitudes, a relatively mild climate.

It was shortly before noon that they arrived at the cottage and now they were sitting in Thomas's car and he was explaining the clutch, the accelerator and the brake. "In your country in this time most cars are automatics – you don't have to bother with changing gears, but that is slow to catch on over here. Also if anyone asks, although here you will drive on the left here, in your country they drive on the right. Now lets get going."

Matt drives up and down the driveway many times before he gets the hang of the clutch and how to let it in and out at the right time. Finally Thomas tells him he is ready to go out on the road.

Matt finds driving the car to be quite instinctive. After driving a team of 6 horses this is easy. Balancing the clutch and the accelerator is a challenge to start with, but with a little effort he master's it. By the time Sunday morning comes he is ready to drive the car to the station to collect Kitty and Jennifer.

He manages to call Cranbourne and explains that he has an idea how things are being done in Tintagel He tells him that he needs to go back and spend a few days there looking around. In return Cranbourne says that the meteorological office has told him that it will be two more weeks until the tide and the phase of the moon will be right for another delivery. The smugglers obviously don't want all the light from a full moon so everything they are doing would be too easy to see. A little light from a first or last quarter would be good.

Later that afternoon the four of them were sitting in Thomas's living room. Kitty could tell that the other two wanted to be alone.

"Matt why don't you and I go for a walk and see some of the town here?

Thomas, which way should we go?"

Thomas directed them through the back gate of his property to where they would see a footpath sign. "There are public footpaths throughout this country. They cross fields and go through church yards, some even through private property. Most of them date back to trails used by peasant farmers hundreds of years ago and by law they must still be left open. Just walk around the edge of planted fields and close any gates you have to open. It's a nice evening for a walk."

The evening turned out to be cool but pleasant. They walked along a narrow path that took them across two fields and along by a small stream. There was an old wood bench under a big oak tree where they sat there for a while enjoying the view and the solitude.

"It sure is nice here Matt." She reaches for his hand and they move closer. "Now tell me what is all this about in Cornwall.

"I'm not sure really, something about gun runners. I don't think it will take too much to solve the problem. I am not sure why I am involved really, anyone could figure this out." His arm goes around her shoulders and in a short while their lips meet and they are lost in the embrace. A strange noise erupts behind them, Matt jumps up turning to face the sound – again he feels naked without a gun on his hip. When as he looks for the source of the noise it is repeated, "Baa". There on the other side of the stream looking straight at him are two sheep. He laughs at himself for being jumpy. A whole field full of sheep lay beyond.

He took Kitty's hand as they laughed and resumed their walk along the

path ended in a narrow lane. Turning left they continued walking for another half mile or so along the road until they came across a small pub, the Dog and Duck.

"Come on this is where Thomas said they would meet up with us."  
It was almost dark outside as they entered through the old oak doorway, which was so low that Matt had to duck his head to pass through. Inside there was a mixed crowd of people drinking and laughing and just enjoying the company of friends. There was a group engrossed in a darts game in one corner, but the other side of the room was taken up by a huge fireplace and hearth. The pile of glowing logs gave warmth and atmosphere to the whole place.

Jennifer and Thomas were already seated at a small table close to the fire, and waved to the newcomers. Matt went over to the bar to buy a round of drinks, he was feeling quite at home here now, and glad to know there would be two more weeks before any chance of a showdown, at least according to whatever office Cranbourne had said told him about the moon and the tides.

Kitty and Jennifer were discussing Doc's progress.

"I took all his IV's out today so if he will take the pills I prescribed he can leave the hospital in a few days."

"Good luck with that," Matt commented, "he can get real ornery at times."

He was about to make some further comment, but remembered that Jennifer did not know about Dodge and where or rather when they came from. Or did she? He wondered if Thomas had shared any stories of his travels with her, and if he had, did she believe him.

The people playing darts had finished their game.

"Here" said Thomas "let's have a turn."

He got a set of darts from the barman and briefly explained how to play.

" We'll start at 301 and work our way back to zero, but you have to finish with a double." After a few throws Matt proved to be good at the game, being able to thrown the dart to hit the bullseye two times out of the first 3 darts he threw. Of course the game got harder as they neared zero, remembering that you had to finish with a double. It looked like Matt and Kitty were going to win, but they got down to 6 and needed a double three. At that point Thomas got a double 5 to erase the 10 they had left.

As tradition dictated the losers bought the next round, and a second game was started. This time Matt and Kitty did better and romped home easily ahead by scoring a double 6 to bring the 12 they had left back to zero.

They returned the darts to the bar and while the ladies left them for a few minutes, Matt had a chance to talk.

"I think I need to take Kitty and go to Cornwall to look into this smuggling problem for a few days. I hate to leave Doc here but I don't know if he will be ready to make the trip or not."

"You can go down on the train, it's not too difficult of a trip. How long do you think you'll be there?"

"Difficult to say. I need to check out this Bar D ranch, and see what cover Bodmin Moor offers. I was thinking that I wouldn't attract too much attention if people thought Kitty and I came there on our honeymoon. It seems to be quite a tourist spot."

"Maybe the best thing would be for him to stay at the apartment. Let me think about it."  
The women returned to join them and Matt drove the car back to the cottage.

Tomorrow Thomas had to leave early to go back to London but the rest of them could get a later start.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**The Historians**

Chapter 10

The morning was overcast and grey as they boarded the commuter train to go back to the city. Thomas had left several hours ago, so there was just the three of them. The other passengers looked as miserable as the morning, some were reading the newspaper others sleeping off the effects of the weekend. The train only made two more stops before it pulled in to Kings Cross.

They shared a taxi that took them through the city and back across the river to the hospital.

Kitty went to check on Doc while Matt went back to the apartment. He had become quite proficient at this thing called 'internet' and wanted to check about trains going to Bodmin. He looked at the address of the cottage and checked it out on googlemaps so he could see exactly where it was. It turned out to be almost exactly halfway between Bodmin and Tintagel. That would be convenient. Obviously these Historians think of everything.

Having found the information he was looking for, he headed over to the hospital to catch up with Kitty. When he got to the room Doc was sitting in a chair looking much more like his old self. He sounded like his old self too, complaining about the coffee and the food – or lack of it.

"He's been like that since I got here Matt," Kitty laughed.

"Well they call this bathwater coffee. It so weak it can hardly crawl out of the cup, and as for taste, there is none."  
He grumbles to himself and swipes his hand across his face.

"Matt you need to be figuring a way to get me out of here, I'm gonna starve to death real soon."

"Now if it wasn't for these folks you'd be dead already so you better just be quiet and behave yourself." Matt was smiling to himself, it was good to hear his friend's argumentative behavior again.

" Jennifer was here earlier Matt," Kitty said. "She said if Doc has no fever by tomorrow morning he can leave the hospital."

Dillon pulls up a chair to sit near Doc.  
"Listen, I have to explain something to you. I have a job to do here before we can go back home. It doesn't look like its going to be that much of a problem but I need to go check on a few things and if I take Kitty with me, people will not think much about me showing up and looking around. We have a nice apartment just across the street and you need to stay there for a few days while we are gone. Thomas and Jennifer will come by and check on you, but you need to take your medicine, rest up and stay out of trouble till we get back. Can you do that?"

"What do you expect me to do, just sit around and twiddle my thumbs."

"No there are some books over there and something called television. I think it will keep you entertained."

Reluctantly the elderly physician agrees.

"Thanks Doc, that way if I don't have to worry about you, I can get this job over and done with faster, it really looks pretty straight forward."

Next morning they escorted Doc across to the apartment. He had the same reaction to all the sights and sounds that Kitty and Matt had had only a week or so ago. Now of course they had come to accept all this as normal and not think twice about it.

Kitty fixed some food for Doc to eat over the few days while they would be gone and Matt showed him about the phone, the television and even the Internet. He was concerned because the man still seemed weak but their two friends had promised to keep an eye on him and Doc swore he would be just fine.

Matt and Kitty had arrived at Paddington Station a little after 9 o'clock the next morning, in plenty of time for the train to Bodmin. They had breakfast at the station café, there was something called an "English Breakfast" on the menu so that is what they ordered.

"Are you sure this is going to be an easy job, Matt. Remember you know nothing about the people behind the gunrunners or smugglers or whatever they are."

"I can't see that it will be a problem, besides I don't have a choice do I? After looking round Tintagel and Bodmin I think I know how it is being done, I just need to get a little closer and make sure. I'm not planning to do anything until Allen Cranbourne gives the go ahead anyway, so don't worry."

The train ride took just under four hours. They sat holding hands and watching the changing landscape as the train headed west. It really seemed to Kitty like they were on vacation. She almost felt reassured by Matt's claim that this was going to be a simple job, and that they could just enjoy themselves.

The Station at Bodmin was small after the ones they had seen in London, but the people seemed friendly and they quickly found a taxi to take them to the address of the cottage that Matt had copied down on a piece of paper. The taxi driver knew exactly where it was and when they got settled in the back of the cab he told them,

"Ol' Mrs. Phipps was awonderin' when you'd arrive. She 's been looking for ye for a week or more."

"Oh, an uncle of mine in London got sick so we spent a few days with him."  
Kitty thought she would head off further questions with an explanation. It was difficult to understand the way the man talked. It sounded very different to London accent, which they had almost got used to.

"Don't be worryin' now, I'll call her and tell her you're here and she'll have some food over there for you in no time."

The cottage was not large, but it was comfortable with two bedrooms and a bathroom. No shower like the apartment in London, just a small bathtub –good enough. Kitty laughed at her own thoughts – just a week ago indoor plumbing seemed the height of luxury.

Meantime Matt had gone round the back of the house and found the car, it was not like Thomas's and the gears looked a little different, but he figured he could master it given a little time. Inserting the key in the ignition he started it up and drove it up and down the driveway a few times. He could manage just fine.

They spent the afternoon walking around the village, but come evening Matt had other ideas.

"I want to show you this old pub called The Jamaica Inn. It's not too far from here."

"What's so special it,"  
"Apparently smugglers used to hang out there centuries ago."  
"Matt is this work or pleasure?"

"I don't know yet."

He remembered the way to The Jamaica Inn and found it easily, even in the dark. The Defender, from the plate on the back of the vehicle he presumed that was what it was called, was difficult to drive at first, but soon he mastered the gears and they pulled up and parked in front of the Inn without incident.

Inside it was fairly quiet, a small pub with dark oak paneling on the walls and low ceilings with oak beams. A couple of locals sat at one end of the bar, a group of four or five young women sat around a table in one corner, and three men who looked like they had just come from the office sat around a table near the window.

Kitty found a table at the back and Matt went up to the bar to get some drinks.

"Quiet tonight?" he asked the barman.

"Oh it'll liven up later on. It's the middle of the week and all the tourists don't get here till Friday. The locals are still at home eating supper, they'll be here soon."

Matt pays for the drinks and heads back to the table. They sit and talk for a while, but Kitty can tell that his mind is working on something else.

They both look up as the door opens and about half a dozen men dressed like farm hands walk in. They take up a table not too far from where Matt and Kitty are sitting. One of them seems to be the boss and is buying drinks all round. They seem happy enough.

Matt waits till the rush is over and goes back up to the bar.

"Same again," he says placing the wine glass and beer mug on the bar.

"Tell me do you know anything about that Bar D ranch?"

"What d'ya want to know?"  
"Well my wife and I thought it would be nice to ride out over the Moor. Just wondered if they had horses for rent."

"You could ask that man over there," he points to the table where the farm hands are sitting. "Hey Ben, there's someone here wants to talk to you," he calls out.

The man Matt had been watching get drinks for everyone, gets up and comes over. He seems to be in a good mood, smiling and extending his hand.

"Ben Bardee," he says

"Matt Dillon."

"What can I do for you?"

"Well, my wife and I are her on vacation and drove past your ranch. We thought it would be nice to ride out over the Moor and wondered if you rented horses. We are both used to riding if that worries you."  
"Well now I've had people tell me that before – about being able to ride – then turns out they don't have a clue."

There was something about the man, maybe it was the way he stood there or the way his eyes couldn't hold Dillon's, but definitely, back in Dodge he would have kept a close watch on him.

"Tell you what, why don't we come over in the morning and you can ride with us a way, or even send one of your men with us." I assure you I have spent many hours in the saddle, so you have no need to worry about us or your horses."

The man looked uncomfortable but recovered his composure quickly, after all he was supposed to be in the business of making money from his animals.

"Well that's just fine then, come over early tomorrow and I'll see what I can fix you up with."

Matt reached out his hand, and reluctantly Ben Bardee followed suit.

"In the morning then. Thanks."

Matt returned to the table where Kitty was still sitting.

"Looks like we're going riding in the morning – I hope you brought some suitable clothes."

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

**The Historians**

Chapter 11

Next morning Matt started the Defender and pulled it around to the front of the house. He watched Kitty as she came towards him along the driveway. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans, a light jacket and a pair of brown boots. He smiled to himself. She looked perfect in whatever she wore, but he liked the clothes she had bought on her shopping trip. They suited her.

The drive out to the Bar D was short and fairly easy.

"Kitty, there are a couple of things I need to look at while we are out there, I need to see inside one of those horse boxes they have for transporting the animals, maybe you could keep Bardee interested in a conversation while I have a look around."

"I'll do my best Matt, but I wish you wouldn't, I was looking forward to a ride on the Moor."

"Oh I plan for us to do that as well."

He drove in through the entrance to the Bar D and continued along the road until he reached a large barn.

He pulled the Defender over to park it beside some other vehicles, bgot out and walked around to help Kitty out. He had noticed that other men did not do this – but ingrained habits died hard for him.

They walked across to a door marked office. Ben Bardee was sitting at his desk talking on the phone. He terminated his conversation quickly and looked up.

"Well I see you decided to come. I'll show you what horses I have."

They started to walk towards the barn and Matt began to tap his pockets.

"You go ahead Kitty, I left my phone in the car." He turns to Bardee, "I'm expecting a call so I need to keep it with me. Go ahead, I'll catch up with you in a minute."

He watched as Kitty started a conversation with Bardee. If anyone could keep a man's interest, she could. He took off to the Defender and opened the door, then backtracked a little to where he could see the two horseboxes. No one around that he could see, so he circled around to come up behind them. The back of one was open and he looked inside. He had seen the inside of many train cars where horses have ridden, this one had neither the smell nor the looks. No stray pieces of hay or grain. It was spotlessly clean except for a couple of smudges on the floor. He jumped inside and drug his fingers through one of the patches – grease – not what you would expect to find. He looked through one of the windows, still no one in sight, he left the inside of the vehicle and looked at the pattern of the tires. Remembering the camera on the phone in his pocket, he took a picture. Next he looked in through the driver's side window of the second Box. This looked more like what he would expect, with the mats on the floor scuffed up, pieces of hay and even shavings on the floor.

He heard footsteps coming towards the far side of the Horse Box. He ducked down hoping whoever it was would pass by. They rounded the back of the box and opened the doors. It seemed like two people talking a language he did not understand. They both climbed inside and began to sweep. He made his way back towards the Defender, hoping he was not seen. As he walked by the vehicle he slammed the door, hoping anyone hearing would think he had been sitting inside. He made his way along to the barn and saw Kitty still entertaining Bardee.

"I'm sorry, that call came through just as I got there, so I went ahead and took it. I hope I didn't keep you waiting."

"Is everything okay at home Matt?"  
"Yes just fine, no problems."

Bardee looked at him but said nothing as the trio walked through the barn.

"I see you have a good number of burro's," Matt commented pleasantly, as he petted the neck of one with its head poking out of the stall door.

"We call them Donkeys here." The man had already noticed the American accent and although curious he had had a number of visitors from that country visit his ranch. "And yes I keep a fair number – the children, you know, down on the beach, they like donkey rides. Its kind of a summer tradition around here."

The man smiles, but Kitty notices that it is with his lips only. His eyes remain cold.

They continue on through the barn. There are a couple of mules and then four or five horses.

"You can pick any of these, that chestnut mare at the end might suit the lady, and the big grey gelding over there," he points might work out for you. I imagine you'll want western tack, fortunately I keep a whole selection for my cowboy weekends. I'll show you the tack room."

He leads them off back towards his office. "You'll have to sign release forms, and it will be £50 each for the whole day, or £30 for half a day."

Matt notices a large scale map of the Moor on the man's office wall and stands looking at it. He wants to see where the main roads are in relation to the trails.

"Do you have a copy of that?" he asks.

The man reaches in a drawer in his desk, and pulls out a sheet of paper.

"You can take this, its not as detailed but I keep a few copies for visitors like yourself."

It took them half an hour to get the horses tacked and on the way. They had a small bag with snacks and water that matt hung on the saddle horn of the grey, and they took off to enjoy the sights of Bodmin Moor. To begin with Matt led them on a northeasterly track. The ride was very pleasant, the slight chill in the air seemed to give the horses energy so they needed no encouragement to stride out briskly.

They came across a stack of boulders and dismounted to look around. Matt got the map Bardee had given him and opened it up trying to orientate himself. The landscape was strange. In some parts quite flat and grassy, other parts were strewn with rocks and boulders. Some of the bigger boulders seemed to have been arranged standing in the earth in formations. He had read on the internet that people from a much earlier time had brought them here and stood them upright to form massive structures.

"I want to head towards that road, looks like it is called the A 30. According to this map it is about 5 or 6 miles from here and just cuts through the edge of the Moor." They follow a well-worn path probably created by wild animals, they had heard that there were wild horses and ponies living on the Moor, these were probably the tracks they followed. They rode for a long time, just at the walk, enjoying the countryside and the quiet stillness that surrounded them. At times they talked and at others they just rode in an easy silence. They found another rock formation and stopped to eat their lunch. The horses seemed quite happy to eat the local grasses so Matt loosened their girths and then relaxed for a while in the unfamiliar landscape. Soon there was movement in the grass to their right. Matt was instantly alert, and to start with disturbed by the fact he had not brought a gun, but then he saw the cause – a small group of wild ponies. He smiled and looked at Kitty.

"This is a wonderful place," she agreed. Kitty was basically a city girl and had enjoyed the stores and the energy that London had to offer, but the peace and even the strangeness of this place appealed to her. She knew for a fact that Matt felt much more at home here than in the city. Here he could relax and let all his thoughts turn inward. He did not have to talk just to make conversation, or express his ideas and concerns if he did not want to. She understood him well enough to allow him some time in his own mind, and would not try to draw him into a conversation when it was obvious that he was buried in his own thoughts. She also knew he was busily figuring out a solution to this job he had to do. He had told her repeatedly that it should not be a problem, he had it all worked out and they just had to wait for the right tides to finish up. Once that was done they would all go home. That is what Thomas had told him anyway.

They rode on and eventually came to where the animal track they had been following came close to the highway. The land was flat here, not much cover, but there was a stand of trees over to their right. He veered his horse off that way and Kitty followed. He dismounted and looked around at the ground. The weather here was obviously much wetter than in Kansas, and several rainfalls had washed out any clear tracks, but there were signs that that burro's had been here. Some low bushes had been torn – like they had been nibbled on, and there was one area where the ground was compacted, like a heavy vehicle had been parked there for several hours on multiple occasions. He found what he thought could be tire tracks and compared them with the tires of the horse box that he had taken pictures of, it could be a match, but too much weather made it impossible to be certain. Even so he felt satisfied that he knew what was going on and planned to call Cranbourne and arrange to meet with him.

The ride back was equally pleasant they even had the pleasure of seeing a few other animals that lived wild out on the Moor before they made it back to the Bar D.

Returning the horses to the owner, they thanked him and told him they had a pleasant day. Matt even volunteered to brush the animals down before putting them up, he was hoping to get the opportunity to look around the barn a little more, but the man declined their offer saying he had staff to do that and so they returned to the Defender to drive back to the cottage. Matt opened the door for Kitty and then went around to the drivers side. As he sat in the seat he looked around the interior. "Someone's been in here," he said.

"Yes I thought that too, look my purse was on the seat and now its back there."

"That's alright, there was nothing in here to tell them anything. I made sure of that. Come on, let's go home, Mrs. Phipps said she would leave us some supper and I'm sure hungry."

Later that evening Matt managed to leave a message for Cranbourne and told him he needed to talk with him. Meanwhile Kitty called Jennifer to check on Doc.

Doc meantime had had an interesting day. He had spent the morning enjoying the niceties of indoor plumbing and the shower that Kitty and Matt had found so enticing. All that effort wore him out and he sat on the couch, putting his feet up and played with this thing called internet that Matt had shown him. He was surprised when he found he could access some of the old Kansas newspapers from his time, even found references to Dodge City – but by all accounts most people thought of it as being a wild and lawless place, he smiled to himself. He must have dozed for a while because the sound of a buzzer awakened him. They had explained about the contraption on the wall to see who was at the door and how to let them in. He recognized the young lady physician who had been taking care of him in the hospital. Much as he cajoled and teased her, he admired her for her poise, her knowledge and her professionalism. A fine young lady he thought – although of course he would tell her no such thing. He let her in the main door and a few minutes later she was knocking on the door to the apartment.

"Hello Doctor Adams, I just came to check on you and bring you some lunch." She placed a small white box on the table. "I hope you like shepherd's pie – it's all they had left in the cafeteria."  
"I'm sure I will enjoy every bite," he told her, "but please call me Doc, everyone else does."

"I just wanted to make sure you had taken your antibiotics and had no fever or headache."

"Thank you, young lady, I appreciate your concern but I am doing fine."

She insisted he sit down, then took his wrist to check his pulse.

"I told you I'm fine now, and yes I took those horse pills you gave me."

She smiled to herself, Matt and Kitty had warned her about the rough, crusty persona he liked to portray.

"Thomas told me to tell you that if he gets through his surgery schedule before too late, he will come over and take you round the hospital to show you how we do things in the big city."

"That'll be good, I'm not used to sitting looking at the inside of four walls all day."

Thomas really hadn't explained much to her about where these people came from, just told her he met them once a long time ago. She wanted to ask Doc what he _was_ used to doing, but her phone rang and after she talked for a minute or two she instead told him she had to return to the hospital.

"I'll let myself out Doctor …er Doc. Just behave and eat that lunch now. One of us will be over later."

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

**The Historians**

Chapter 12

Doc ate lunch. The shepherd's pie was good – at least better than some of the food he was used to eating at Delmonico's. He turned on the device known as television. It was an amazing contraption, by changing channels he could watch a whole variety of things. He settled on something called a western. It depicted life in a town much like Dodge City, in a time he was familiar with. He watched as the Sheriff chased down the bank robbers and brought them to justice. He laughed to himself at the thought of people watching life in a time so remote from when and where they lived. Finally he dozed off for a while until the door buzzer wakened him. He let Thomas in, and was pleased to have some company.

"Hi there Doc, how are you doing?"  
"By golly I am tired of people asking me that. I am just fine, thank you."

Thomas smiled, he knew Doc and his ways, and had grown to admire him and consider him to be a good friend and a remarkable physician during the time he had been in Dodge.

"I just wondered if you would like a game of checkers, or maybe you would like to come and look around the place where I work."

"I'll tell you Thomas there are a couple of things I'd like to know. Who are you and how did I get here."

"It's a little complicated. Sit down and I'll make us some coffee."

Two blue coffee mugs sat on the table between them as Thomas started to recount his story about the Historians and how he'd been chosen, or maybe obliged was a better word, to work for them. Doc listened with interest, but to him the whole thing still seemed impossible, maybe he was still dreaming.

"C'mon, I've got an hour or so to spare, let me show you some of the tools we have available to help us in the practice of medicine today. Just be careful what you say to folks, no one must know that you're from another time.

Doc notices that they are headed for someplace called Medical Imaging. Thomas tries to explain a little, "I think it was the early part of the 1900's when a man called Rontgen discovered X Rays. I can't tell you much about that, but he found they could pass through the human body and leave an image on a photographic plate. He was amazed to see all the bones of the hands and feet and the like. Things have come a long way since then, it wasn't long before they started making radiographs of the chest, abdomen and limbs. In the last thirty years imaging has just taken off with a whole set of new inventions. I think it has become one of the best tools available to us today."

He unclips the name badge from his pocket and slides it through a device that opens a door into a room with a vast array of lights, buttons and devices Doc has no words for.

"Here let me show you something." Thomas sits in front of the terminal and touches some buttons then scrolls down a list that appears on a screen. Finding the one he wants he selects it and the screen shows a normal chest x ray. Adam's is astounded, he realizes he is looking at the heart and lungs inside a chest. Something he can only imagine by listening and tapping.

Thomas brings up another image

"See this down here is fluid," Thomas points to a solid white patch at the base of the left lung.

"That's where I would hear no breath sounds and it would sound dull on percussion."

"Right, with this simple radiograph you can see fluid or pneumonia or even a mass – in your time you could have located a bullet without having to probe for it."

Doc is amazed. "I need one of those machines."

"Oh but now we go a lot further."

He scrolls through a few more screens and explains, "I know you don't have sliced bread in your time, but imagine a loaf of bread and you cut it into slices but still leave it all stacked together. Now I can pull out one of those slices and look at it, like this." The screen shows an image Doc can't make out at first.

"See we are looking at a slice through this part of the chest," he points out a line through the first picture he showed.

"By golly Thomas, how do you do that?"

"Now I can do even better, this computer will put together a 3D image so I can look at each structure in the chest, turn it around and see it in detail – almost like I could take it out and hold it in my hand."

Doc watches, for once at a loss for words. Finally he asks

"How does all that work?"

He points through a window to a second room where Doc can see an enormous piece of machinery with a small hole in the middle, somewhat like a large doughnut.

"That's the machine that gathers all the information for the computer to reassemble, I don't even pretend to understand all the physics and technology behind it, but it works with powerful magnets."

Doc looks, swipes his mustache and pulls on his ear, thinking.

"This is a lot of stuff to understand, you Doctors of today have to know a whole lot more than I ever did."  
"But Doc, look at the skills you do have and how you make the most of them, most of us would be totally lost given only the tools you have to work with."

"Come on, I'd better get you home before Jennifer says I'm wearing you out. Would you like to stop by the cafeteria and get something for supper?"

Matt and Kitty were enjoying their own supper that Mrs. Phipps had left for them. She had written a clear set of instructions on how to heat it up when they got home. She had also left them a bottle of wine in the refrigerator to go with it.

Supper over they were about to go for a walk and visit another local pub, when Matt's phone rang, it was Cranbourne. Matt talked with him for a few minutes, explaining that he had some idea of how things were being done. Cranbourne didn't want to talk over the phone, and said he would try to fly down tomorrow or the day after for an hour or so and maybe Matt could meet him at the airport.

Matt and Kitty both enjoyed their pub evenings. They had met a lot of interesting people and never ceased to be amazed that no fights broke out and everyone had a good time. All the pubs they had visited were unique and had their own individual characteristics.

They headed for The Ship Inn.

Their landlady – Mrs. Phipps, had told them that it was a nice pub to visit and gave them directions on how to get there. It was barely half a mile down the street towards town.

The walk was quiet and the pub warm and welcoming. They spent a pleasant hour talking with another couple who were visiting the area. Matt said nothing but became aware that someone was watching him. He couldn't be sure but it was that lawman's instinct honed over several years of trying to avoid trouble coming at him from dark alleyways or lonely prairie trails.

When they left the pub it was already dark. They walked through the parking lot and headed along the narrow street, the little town was quiet at this time of evening.

They had just got to the corner where they would turn to go up to the cottage when a shadowy figure appeared from a dark doorway. He was wielding what looked like a metal pipe about twelve inches long and was trying to hit Matt over the head with it. He miscalculated the speed of the Marshal's reactions, and instead caught him on the arm. Matt landed a backhand across the man's chin then pulled him up from the ground by the collar of his coat.

"What are you trying to do mister? Who sent you to bushwhack me?"  
The man said nothing, he managed to wriggle free and took off up the street running. Matt watched him go but didn't bother going after him, he probably wouldn't learn much anyway. He couldn't be sure but he thought he had seen the man out at the Bar D.

"Are you okay Matt?" Kitty asked, "I thought you said this job was going to be a simple one. Looks to me like they are on to you already."  
"Yeh I'm fine," he said rubbing his arm and looking up the street in the direction the man had run. "I've had the feeling that someone was watching us since we left the Bar D, we need to be a little more careful from now on. Cranbourne did tell me to keep that gun with me, maybe he was right."

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

**The Historians**

Chapter 13

When they got back to the cottage, Matt looked around to make sure no one had been there since they left earlier in the evening. He checked all the doors and windows, and was finally satisfied that they were reasonably safe.

They sat in the small kitchen drinking coffee for a while, and were just about to turn in for the night when Matt's phone rang.

It was a guttural voice that he could not place. Possibly Bardee, but he couldn't be sure. "You need to stop poking your nose into things that don't concern you, else you and your pretty wife are going to get hurt bad. Just go back home."

Matt said nothing, the caller hung up.

Kitty sensed something was wrong. "What is it Matt?"  
"Someone wants us to leave."

He walked over to a cupboard in the kitchen where he had stored the gun. He checked it for ammunition and walked back to the living room.

"At least I am sure I'm on the right track now. These people are getting nervous so it can't be long before their next shipment is due." He stops and thinks for a few seconds, considering options.

"Kitty, Cranbourne is coming down tomorrow or the next day. I want you to fly back to London with him that way I know you'll be safe. You'll be all right in that apartment or with Thomas at the hospital, but I want you to be careful. I have a feeling things are going to move fairly quickly."

Kitty started to object. "What are you going to be doing Matt? Are you still saying this is an easy job? Seems to me that they have figured you out already."

"I have to see this through, it's the only way we'll get back home. I can't go back on the deal agreed to in exchange for Doc's life, can I? I'm going to be fine Kitty, you know I can take care of myself. I don't think these are much more than cheap gunrunners who got lucky and figured out I was on to them."  
"Well how did they get that phone number, or know where we were tonight. I think they are a little smarter than you give them credit for."

In truth Matt felt that way too, but didn't want Kitty to worry. He had an obligation to see this job through and somehow he would do it."  
"Come on Kitty, I think its time for us to go to bed." He tried to sound like everything was fine but Kitty noticed he brought the gun to bed and placed it under his pillow.

The bedroom was cool and quiet. Matt had already checked the window locks, so he sat on the bed to remove his boots. He watched as Kitty proceeded to undress. This woman is beautiful in any century, he thought as she reached in a drawer for the lacy nightgown – another purchase from her shopping spree. He went to stand behind her and put his arms around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry it's turning out this way," he said quietly. "I really thought this was not going to be a big problem. I still think it's all going to work out fine, I know how they are running the operation and once Cranbourne gets the go ahead, we can finish up quickly. Meantime I want you to be safe."

She turns towards him and raises her face to his. She never could resist his soft quiet words. Their lips meet as she unbuttoned his shirt.

Kitty woke first next morning and made her way to the kitchen to make coffee. It wasn't long before Matt joined her.

"So what's the plan today."

"I just got a text from Cranbourne, he said he'd be here tomorrow around noon. So let's be regular tourists and see some of the sights," he says working his way into the shoulder holster.

"I don't think regular tourists go around dressed like that," Kitty comments. Matt says nothing as he pulls the brown jacket on to hide the weapon.

They spent the morning going around the ruins of Tintagel castle and found a spot out of the wind to eat a picnic lunch. Like most of the area there were myths and legends surrounding the rocks and stones that hands from hundreds of years before had assembled. Some of the stories sent chills racing through her spine, good and evil had both existed here in great amounts in those times.

Kitty noticed that although he appeared to be relaxed and enjoying himself, Matt was alert, watching people around them, and when they did stop to look at something he tried to pick a place where no one could come up on them unseen, evil, apparently, still lurked here today.

After lunch they drove south staying as near to the coast as possible, stopping occasionally to look at the cliffs and beaches below. They made it all the way south to Camel Bay and then stopped to explore the little town of Wadebridge.

Matt had become aware that someone was following them about an hour after they left Tintagel. It was a dark blue car and there was so little traffic on the road that it was obvious that it stopped every time they did. Several times Matt pulled over so they could look over the cliffs at the view below, and each time the blue car pulled in a little way behind them or was waiting when they pulled out again.

They found a small café in Wadebridge and stopped for Cornish Cream Teas. They were told it was a local special and had decided to try it. Matt found a table near the window where he could watch the street. He saw the blue car pull into town and park across the road near where he had parked the Defender. He watched as he drank the tea and ate the scone with cream and strawberry jam. It wasn't long before the driver of the blue car was walking down the far side of the street. Matt watched him but from this distance couldn't make out who it was. He waited and after about five minutes, he watched the same man walking back up towards him on the same side as the café.

"Excuse me a minute Kitty." He got up and went out onto the street, waiting in the doorway until the man approached. He stepped out and stood in front of him, his height and habitual air of authority intimidated the man somewhat.

"Now suppose you tell me what's going on."

"I don't know what you're talking about."  
"You've been following me all afternoon, who are you working for?"

"I don't know what you mean mister."  
Matt wanted to backhand the man and knock him to the ground as he would have done in Dodge, but here, in this time, on these streets, that was not the thing to do.

He released the man. "Go on your way and tell your boss to leave me alone."

He turned and walked back to rejoin Kitty.

"Was that the same man as last Night?"

"I think so but I can't be sure. Come on lets get going. I'll feel better when you are on that jet back to London."

As they set off he watched the blue car but it did not move. He saw the man sitting in the drivers seat with a phone to his ear.

They got back to the cottage an hour or so later. Matt told her to wait in the car then he got out, locked the doors and went to the cottage to check that all was well. She watched as he drew his gun and worked his way around the side of the building. At first she thought she saw some movement in the shadows of the bushes, holding her breath she watched as Matt unlocked the back door and slipped his hand inside to turn on the lights. The shadows were immediately dissolved. No one was there. He disappeared inside and then came back out a few moments later, to walk across to the Defender and open the door for her.

"It's all right. It doesn't look like anyone has been here," he tells her as he helps her down from the vehicle.

Once inside the cottage he returns the gun to its holster and goes to watch out the window. Nothing moving outside, everything seems normal. After all this is a quiet country town where people come to vacation, it is nothing like Dodge City, where would be killers roaming the streets, is an everyday occurrence.

Inside the quiet of the cottage with its comfortable furnishings and warm glow of the firelight it was difficult to imagine that there were people out there plotting evil. Kitty looked hard at her cowboy.

"What do you think's going on Matt."

"I think they are planning to receive a shipment in the next few days and don't want anyone checking up on them."

He takes her hand in his. "It won't be long now till we're on our way home."

Matt hardly sleeps that night, just like when he is out on the trail with a prisoner, he closes his eyes but not his ears and lies there listening to the sounds of the night, waiting for the crack of a breaking twig or the crunch of a footfall on the gravel out side the cottage. He watches as kitty sleeps, nothing must happen to her. The cold metal of the gun feels comfortable in his hand as he counts off the hours till morning.

Kitty sleeps for a while but wakens while it is still dark. She can feel the tension in the body of the man beside her and turns to look at him. Despite the darkness she knows he is not asleep and probably hasn't slept all night.

There is a small clock on the bedside table, it shows the time in numbers that shine green in the darkness, they tell her it is 3.30.

"Matt," she says softly "you're awake aren't you?"

In answer he reaches out to find her hand.

"It's all right Kitty, go back to sleep."

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

**The Historians**

Chapter 14

Kitty appreciates this coffee pot that doesn't need a fire, just add coffee and water and flip a switch. Outside the kitchen window the light of day destroys the dark shadows of the night and everything looks calm and peaceful. She let Matt sleep for a while, it must have been 5 o'clock before he let himself relax enough to doze off. She knew he would need all his wits about him in the days ahead and wished he'd let her stay here with him, but she understood. Just like in Dodge he would be worrying about her safety before his own.

She turned on the television, found a news channel and listened as the man whose head and shoulders looked back at her from the screen, described how airports and seaports would be on heightened alert because of a credible terrorist threat. He went on to recap the attack on London subways a few years earlier, and the one against New York City before that. The pictures of New York City and all those tall buildings amazed her. She watched in horror as the buildings fell and felt the devastation cause by ruthless people who cared nothing about human life.

Another hour passed before Matt came walking into the kitchen looking for coffee. As she looked at him she was glad that these terrorists where not the people he was up against, just a bunch of gunrunners he had told her. Somehow she wondered if there was more to it than that.

Kitty packed the few things she had brought with her from London, into an overnight bag which Matt placed on the back seat of the Defender, and then headed towards the airport to meet Cranbourne.

As he drove he kept a watch in the rear view mirror, looking to see if the blue car was following. For about 10 minutes he saw nothing, and then a different car from last night was there, this one was black and a totally different style. He pulled off into a space along the side of the road, designed so that visitors could pull over to take photographs. The black car went on past, but another mile or two down the road he saw it again. There weren't any other paved roads leading off this one that he could take, and he certainly did not want anyone following him to the airport. He saw several dirt tracks leading off from the left hand side of the road. He had read in the vehicle's handbook how the Defender could drive over rough terrain and even through water. He was going to find out if that was true. He accelerated around the next three bends in the road until he was a good distance ahead of the trailing car. Then he saw what he needed, a dirt track off to the left. The road that he was leaving had so many twists and turns that he would be out of sight of the other car for a few seconds. The hedges along the side of the road were tall enough that if he was fast he could be well hidden by the time the other car passed.

He still had his foot hard down on the gas pedal, "Hang on Kitty," he yelled as he turned the wheel and they fishtailed onto the dirt trail. Continuing the turn he kept the Defender going so that they finished up with the tall hedge between them and the road they had been travelling on.

He rolled down the window in time to hear the other car speeding by.

Dillon wanted to get back on to the road, but further back the way he had come.

There was another road there that he could take to the airport. Opening the door, he stood on the running board and could see another highway in the distance. There was a small creek and some fairly rough terrain between them and it, but he was beginning to feel at home behind the wheel of the Defender and was sure he could make it.

He looked at Kitty, her face was a little pale, but she managed a smile.

He sat back down and fastened his seat belt.

"It's going to be a little bit of a rough ride, but I'm getting you to the airport somehow."

He selected the setting on the second smaller gear stick, on the floor beside his left hand, to off road. He had read about that in the book also. Turning the engine back on, he slipped it into gear and started off in the direction he needed. One thing he was grateful for – even if the other car did try to follow he was going to loose them in the water up ahead. He kept a fairly straight line on the direction he had sited, and wound his way between the bigger boulders.

As he became more confident in the vehicles abilities he became less selective and more or less kept a straight-line path no matter what was in the way. They both held their breath as they headed down into the stream. The water was clear and he saw no big obstacles in the way.

Just keep the vehicle moving forward, that's what he had read. The water came about half way up the wheel hubs when they reached the middle, but did not enter the cab. He kept them moving and soon the other bank was just ahead. The little vehicle willingly climbed back onto dry land and he proceeded on for another mile or two till he saw the highway ahead.

Now all he had to do was find a gap between the hedges where he could once more return to the smooth surface of the paved road. Again luck was with him and they came to a farm track, turning onto it he headed towards the road.

"You enjoyed that didn't you?" Kitty asked grinning at him.

He smiled back, "Just needed to throw them off the trail."

It only took about half an hour more to reach the small airport. It looked like the jet had already landed and Matt drove towards it. He could see Allen Cranbourne heading towards the little office at the corner of one of the hangers. He parked the Defender as close as possible and left Kitty inside to go talk to his friend.

Kitty saw a blonde headed man, about 5 inches shorter than Matt. He had a stocky build his face was oval in shape and even from where she sat she could not help noticing his open smile. He looked like he was used to taking charge of any situation and she noticed he walked with long easy strides, not seeming to hurry, but covering a lot of ground. From the shape of his jacket and the way his left arm hung, she figured he, too, carried a gun in a shoulder holster.

Matt caught up with him just before he entered the office. Another man was with him, he looked a little older but had an informal uniform with a set of wings embroidered above the pocket of his blazer.

"Hello Allen," said Matt holding out his hand. Cranbourne turned and exchanged greetings and introduced the pilot.

"I need to ask you a favor, Allen. Kitty needs to go back to London, can she travel back with you tonight."  
"I'm staying here now, change of plan, but Philip may be going back.

They walked into the office where the pilot was busy filing his flight plan and checking weather reports.

"Philip," he called, the pilot turned around to look at the two men. "Are you headed back to London?"  
"Yes I need to get back to City Airport to pick up another passenger or two."  
"This is Matt Dillon," he introduces, "we are going to be working together for a few days. His wife needs to go back to London, do you think you can take her."  
"Sure be glad too, as long as you clear it with the agency. I have to leave in about twenty minutes."  
"No problem."

"Kitty's in the car, I'll get her."

"You go settle her on the plane, while I make a phone call."

Matt does as Cranbourne suggests.

"C'mon Kitty let me show you to your jet."  
He carries her bag and walks with her up the steps into the jet then shows her how to use the seat belt and where the bar and snacks are.

"You sure this is going to be alright Matt." She looks a little scared as she looks around the plane. He takes her in his arms, you're going to love every minute of it. It's an amazing feeling. Just don't let on that you've never flown before."

"I wish I could just stay here with you."

"Kitty we've talked about that, you know I hate to send you away like this, but I need you to be safe. Hey and someone needs to go check on Doc, no telling what kind of trouble he's got himself in by now." She smiles and he holds her tightly to him.

"I'm going to miss you but it shouldn't take but a few days to finish this up, then we'll be together again and on our way home." He kisses her gently, lingering a little longer than he intended. There is a cough from behind him as the pilot makes his entrance. He looks at Kitty and smiles.  
"Stay safe Cowboy, I'll be waiting for you."

"You too," he replies as he lets go her hands and they hold each others gaze for a few seconds.

"Philip can you see that my wife gets a taxi to Guys Hospital when you get to London. She needs to go visit her uncle." He smiles at Kitty with his shy grin, then turns and ducks his head to get through the exit door.

As he walks across to the hanger buildings, he glances back and waves as the engines of the small jet rev up. Then he watches as the plane taxis down the runway and soon lifts like an elegant bird into the sky.

"Stay safe," he says again to himself. Then walks inside to see Cranbourne, who has just finished talking on the phone.

"We need to talk," he says to Matt.

"C'mon then, that's mine out there." He points with pride to the Defender, standing out there with remnants from the trip across the Cornish countryside hanging from its bumpers.  
"What have you been doing?" Cranbourne laughs and slaps him on the back.

"It's quite a story. I'll tell you later."

Matt drives them back to the cottage and on the way Cranbourne explains what has been happening.

"Things are warming up, there are several deliveries of arms expected up and down the coast in the next few days. Looks like they are planning some kind of big attack. Our job is to track the delivery here. Once it is unloaded from the sub, the Coast guard will take care of that part. They want us to handle the men taking the weapons from the coast to whatever form of transport they are using to get the goods to their destination. They want us to follow them and get the location of the transfer so the next team can take over. They will follow the weapons to where they are going. If possible they want us to plant a tracking device on the vehicle. Once the transfer has been made we are to arrest the men we have been following and hold them till backup arrives to take them away. They want to involve as small a force as possible out here in the countryside a dozen agents suddenly arriving on the scene would cause quite a stir."  
"Why don't you use the local police, you seem to have a good organization going in this country."

"We have to keep it quiet. We want to corner the top men involved. If we get the local constabulary involved it will be all over the news. Word has already leaked out that something big is going to happen. Our bosses want to track all these shipments and if one of them becomes publicized too soon the rest will stop and then they will regroup later. We've got the intelligence this time, we may not be so lucky if they have to try again."

"Now tell me what's been happening here."

Matt recounted the events of the last few days, together with his drive across the fields and streams of Cornwall. About the time he finished they arrived at the cottage.

" So what do we do now?"

"The agency thinks the delivery will be tomorrow night."

They went inside and Matt found some cheese and bread that Kitty had bought so he wouldn't starve while she was gone. They sat at the small table eating and drinking coffee from the blue mugs.

"I can show you the vehicle they'll move the weapons in, and I know how they'll get it from the beach to the road. What is this tracking device you mentioned?"

Cranbourne had two black leather grips that he had brought with him on the plane. He opened one and took out a small metal device about the size of one of those scones Matt had eaten yesterday.

"This is magnetic. If we can attach it to the vehicle it gives of a signal we can pick up and follow. Makes it easy to track them down."

"I think we can do that, how does tonight sound?"  
Cranbourne looks at him, "You have a plan?"

"I think I do, I need to get this job done as soon as possible so I can go back home."

Dillon explained about the Bar D ranch, the Donkeys on the beach, and the horsebox that looked too clean inside to ever have carried horses.

"Tonight we can go out there and plant this device of yours."

Matt felt good about finally getting to do something. Up till now it had been the gunrunners or whatever they were, calling the shots. Time to turn the tables.

Cranbourne was unpacking the contents of the two bags he had brought.

He arranged all the stuff on the table. Most of it was totally unfamiliar to Matt. Fortunately the agent pointed to the items and described them.

"Night vision goggles, bullet proof vests, silencers for the handguns, communications devices, black fleece jackets with hoods." Most of the words were meaningless to Dillon. He didn't need all that stuff to attach that device to the horsebox. Now things looked like they were moving he was anxious for darkness to come.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

**The Historians**

Chapter 15

It was almost midnight and Matt was looking at the array of gadgets on the table.

Cranbourne explained to him how to set the tracker and handed him a set of night vision goggles and a communications device.

"Just put this round your neck, with this part," he pointed to a small, thickened part on the cord, "in the front. It will pick up a whisper, and this part goes in your ear. That way if we need to talk I can hear you. It has a range of a few hundred feet." He hands him a bulletproof vest. "This will stop everything except some of those Kevlar piercing bullets. I'm hoping we won't be needing them, but you never know."  
Matt followed Cranbourne's lead and donned the vest. It was uncomfortable and restricted his movements. This wouldn't work if he had to work his way through the undergrowth to the horsebox, but he'd give it a try. The black polartec fleece jacket was warm and light. He watched as Cranbourne fastened his by pulling a tab all the way up the front, it made a zipping sound as it fastened. The right hand pocket was big enough to hold the Glock. He checked the safety catch before placing the weapon in there. The agent handed him a tubular like device.

"This silencer should fit if we need to use them." Matt put that in the other pocket – not sure what function it served but not wanting to show his ignorance.  
"How do you want to do this?" Cranbourne asked.  
"I figured we would drive over there but park away from the ranch, then work our way in on foot. I have a good idea of the layout of the place from when Kitty and I visited the other day."

Matt looked at the other man. "I want to check around here first – make sure no one is watching the cottage, wait here."

Moving around in the dark was not a problem for him, how many times had he tracked criminals across the prairie and worked his way into their camp unseen? These night vision goggles were something he had never heard of, he wanted to see how they worked and so put them on to see what they did. He was amazed at the detail they revealed, it was almost like seeing in the dark. An animal moved among the bushes, a cat or something. It showed up vividly against the dark background. This was a great tool to have.

He returned to the cottage some ten minutes later. Cranbourne was startled when Matt came up behind him declaring everything to be clear. It amazed him that such a big man could move so silently.

They drove off into the night. Matt did not want to turn the headlights on until they were away from the cottage so as not to attract any unwanted attention. Finally about half a mile down the road he picked up a little speed and drove for about thirty minutes before looking for a place to hide the Defender.

As they started towards the ranch on foot they checked that their communications equipment was working, and turned off their cell phones. It was about a mile or so to the ranch and both men headed off across the fields. Matt had a good sense of direction, and managed to get them within a few hundred feet of the horsebox. He took the tracker from Cranbourne.

"A herd of buffalo makes less noise than you do. Just stay here and let me go attach this." He puts the night vision goggles in his pocket and heads off into the darkness.

There are noises of partying and celebrating coming from the house. Probably Bardee and those farm hands of his, Dillon thinks as he makes his way towards the horsebox. He puts the night vision goggles on and looks around in the direction of the barn. One man was sitting outside there, keeping watch. There is another man on the front porch of the house. He works his way behind a thicket, moving closer to the horsebox then he is confronted by an open space he has to cross to get there. He searches for an alternate route, but can't see any. Dropping to his belly he considers working his way across in the shadows, a little too risky though. Then he remembers the communications device.

"Allen," he says in a voice little above a whisper, "I need a diversion, there are two guards here, I could take them out, but not advisable."

A voice replied in his ear, "Hold tight Matt and give me a minute."

It's not long before there is a loud rustling in some bushes about 50 feet to his right. Both the guards jump up and go to see what's happening. Matt takes the opportunity to run to the horsebox, he bends double to create a low profile and makes no more noise than a cat as he covers the distance.

The men have gone to investigate the disturbance, he can here them calling to each other in the distance. He reaches the horsebox and looks around, no one in sight. He listens, just the sounds of the night and the party going on in the house, the guards are not coming back yet.

He climbs in the rear compartment of the vehicle and looks around for somewhere to hide the tracker – somewhere that the magnet can grab on to. Finding a spot behind the driver's cab that is hidden from direct view, he sets the tracker and fixes it in position. He needs to hurry, there may not be too much time before those guards return. He looks out the back doors, no one around, and he is about to jump down when he hears voices coming his way. He crouches down and stays still, hiding back in the shadows, no way out of here now. Maybe they will go on by. He cannot understand the language they are speaking so he has no idea what they are planning. They keep coming his way and then stop just as Cranbourne's voice erupts in his ear in his ear, "Is everything okay?" He barely breathes an answer, "Fine, be patient." The two men continue their conversation until one turns and heads back to the house. The first man continues to lean against the cab and lights a cigarette from which he inhales deeply. Matt knows that he needs to get out of here, the other guards will be headed back this way soon. He looks out the back of the horsebox again, no one in sight. He carefully lowers himself to the ground making no noise. About twenty feet away there are some bushes – they are not in the direction he needs to go but he has to get away from here, it will do. He'll just have to circle round, it'll take a while but he can't afford to be seen.

Bending low he moves across the space to the bushes making no sound. No problem so far. He squats down behind the cover and looks back at the horsebox. The man is just finishing his cigarette now and starts to head back to the house. He passes the back of the horsebox and about ten feet from where Matt is hiding.

"Allen, you still there."

"Yeh what's happening?"

"I got a little delayed, meet you back at the car."

"Roger."

Who's Roger? thinks Dillon.

He works his way back to the Defender, and catches up with Cranbourne.

"What happened back there?"  
"I nearly had some company, but everything went all right, the tracker is in place and turned on."

"What do you think is going to happen now?"  
"I would say there'll be a lot of Donkeys on the beach tomorrow, and if we watch, one of those horseboxes will leave the ranch and head through the town and up that road – the A 30. No one will think it strange or give it a second thought. Everyone is used to seeing Ben Bardee haul his donkeys around from one beach to another. I would think they will park it just off the road on the edge of the Moor and wait for the delivery."

Matt drives back to the cottage, stopping a few hundred yards before the entrance to the driveway.

"I'm going to look around before we drive in, don't want anyone surprising us." He gives Cranbourne the keys, "Keep listening, I'll tell you when to come on in, and don't forget to keep the lights off."

He takes the night vision goggles and puts the communication device back around his neck.

He works his way along the driveway keeping to the bushes. Putting on the goggles he looks around studying the undergrowth for anything that moves. He almost misses it but there in the darkness someone is making their way towards the back door of the cottage. He watches as the man reaches the back door and starts to work on the lock. He makes so much noise he doesn't hear the big lawman come up behind him.

Dillon eases the gun from his pocket and pushes it into the intruders back.

"Hold it right there."

The man spins round, Dillon doesn't want to fire – it would attract too much attention here in the quiet English countryside. He whips his arm up hitting the man on the side of the head with the gun. The intruder falls to the ground, out cold. Dillon opens the door and drags him in.

"Allen, come on, we have a visitor," he says into the communication device.

A few minutes later the Englishman is standing next to him in the cottage looking down at the unconscious man.

"What do you want me to do with him? We obviously can't turn him loose now."

Cranbourne makes a brief phone call.

"Someone'll be here to collect him shortly, just keep him safe."

Dillon had noticed some rope in the back of the Defender. He fetches it and makes quick work of tying the man up.

Cranbourne laughs, "Looks like you've done that before."  
"A time or two," Matt admits.

It is not half an hour before a car without lights pulls up around the back of the cottage. Two men get out and walk quickly to the house. With very little conversation or ceremony they pick the intruder up and carry him to the car then drive away.

"Who were they?"

"I have no idea, and its better like that."

Dillon gets a couple of beers from the refrigerator and the men sit drinking for a while. Matt checks his phone and sees that Kitty tried to call earlier, probably while he was in the horsebox. He sent her a text saying he would call her in the morning and that all was well.

Kitty watched as Matt walked away from the plane, she saw him turn and wave, then just stand there watching. She kept her eyes on him as the jet began to move forward and watched until she could no longer see him.

"Stay safe Cowboy," she said, somehow she had an odd feeling that this job was going to be a lot tougher than he let on.

Fields, villages and the cars on the roads, they were getting smaller and smaller as the plane rose into the air. Then she was looking down on the clouds, how different it all looked from here. She looked out over the wings – how were those flimsy looking structures holding them up here. She sat back trying to relax. After a while the pilot told her she could unfasten her seat belt, open the snack bar and help herself. There was some cheese and crackers and several small bottles of wine. She poured a glass and opened a package of the cheese and crackers. Matt had told her it would take about an hour to reach London. How amazing – and she had thought the train was travelling fast. She watched as they flew in over the City and could see the River Thames coursing its way through the unique buildings of the capital. They were not as tall or as crammed as those she had seen of New York City on that thing called television. There were green open spaces and historic buildings, she even glimpsed the so called London Eye. As they came in closer she could identify Waterloo Bridge, that made her think of Doc and she wondered how he was doing.

A taxi was waiting for her when she left the plane and in what seemed like a very short time she was standing on the sidewalk out side the apartment. She headed in the main door and up in the lift. As she opened the apartment door she called for Doc, not wanting to scare him.

He was sitting on the couch watching the television. She looked at the screen and saw a group of cowboys racing across the prairie on horseback. She laughed.

"For heaven's sake what are you watching Doc."

"Oh er Kitty, I didn't hear you come in." He seemed somewhat embarrassed at having been caught.

"Oh well –you should watch this – it's just like being back in Dodge. They have Sheriffs and Marshals and gunmen. Just like home." He looks around, "Say, where's Matt?"

"He's still on the job. He said he should be finished in a day or two. Then we'll get to go home."

"Yeh." Doc was thoughtful. Thomas had explained to him why they were brought here because Doc was going to die without modern medicine, and how the historians wanted Matt to do a job for them. He had tried not to connect the two facts, but Doc saw through that. He figured very quickly that Matt was doing this job in payment for his own life being saved, and he felt bad about it.

Kitty went to the bedroom Matt and she had shared, and unpacked the small bag she carried. Doc continued to watch his movie.

Later he told her about all the unbelievable advances in medicine he had seen at the hospital. Thomas had taken him around Medical Imaging, Pathology and Pharmacology, he could hardly believe the things they had.

They ate out, that evening with Thomas and Jennifer. Kitty had a good time especially as they had a table overlooking the river and she could enjoy watching the lights reflect on the water and boats going up and down. Despite the very pleasant surroundings, her mind kept wandering to Cornwall and what Matt was doing. In her heart she was scared for him, things were so different in this world, it would be so easy for him to make a mistake, and the thought of what the consequences of that might be sent a chill through her.

It was late before they got home and when she tried to call Matt, she got no answer. She was asleep by the time his text got to her, but she awoke early and picking up the phone decided to call him.

He sounded like he was still half asleep when he answered.

"Matt, is everything alright, I was worried when I couldn't get you last night."

"Everything's just fine. Allen and I were doing a job and had the phones turned off. I am hoping this will all be over tomorrow night. I miss you already."

"Me too."  
She told him about the flight back to London, Doc watching westerns on television and how he had seen so much at the hospital.

" Please be careful Matt, you know I worry about you."

"It's going to be all right. Just a few more smugglers to round up and I'll be there. I love you Kitty, a hundred gun runners couldn't keep me away."

Still she wasn't convinced.

They talked for a few more minutes and then he said he had to go relieve Cranbourne who'd been keeping watch.

She ended the call and sat there holding the phone as if somehow it was part of him, her one connection to the man who held her heart. She put the device under her pillow and tried to sleep some more before morning.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

**The Historians**

Chapter 16

Just as Matt had predicted, Bardee had almost a dozen donkeys on the beach the next morning, and they watched as the horsebox that had delivered them there was leaving and heading back to the ranch. A little later the second box could be seen going out through the town towards the A 30.

"I still don't see how they are going to get all those weapons up that cliff path."

"I think they have it all figured out, we just have to come back tonight and watch." Matt was now convinced that he knew exactly how it was going to play out.

It was after dark before they made their way back to the cliffs. They took up a position looking down on the small inlet where it was believed the boats would bring the smuggled goods in. Cranbourne had been told they would be using a submarine to get near the coast and then several small boats would meet it to transfer the weapons to shore.

There were several caves under the cliffs and Matt thought Bardee would be keeping the donkeys hidden there until they were needed. The tide was about right now, far enough out to leave room to transfer the loads to the animals, but not too far where they would be walking way out on the sand.

Matt felt Cranbourne's elbow nudging him, and he found a pair of night vision binoculars being pushed into his hand.

"Look there, you can just make out four small boats heading this way."

Matt raised the instrument to his eyes and scanned the water in the direction the Englishman pointed. Finally he picked them up. The boats had a low profile and were hard to see. Finally he could hear the soft purr of the engines as they got closer to shore. It was almost completely dark, just a small sliver of the new moon visible low in the sky.

They watched the boats come closer until they were about six feet from the waters edge. Suddenly the string of Donkeys appeared – almost from nowhere. Three or four men jumped from each boat and started securing packs onto the backs of the animals. It took them less than 30 minutes to get everything secured, then the boats headed out again and two men led the string of Donkeys along the beach to the start of the narrow zigzag track that led to the top.

"The coast guard will pick up those boats and the sub before they get outside the three mile limit. This is where our part begins." Allen Cranbourne could now see how the whole operation was planned. He had never imagined the donkeys being used for anything but rides for children on the beach. He never had thought of them being used as pack animals.  
"We're ready," Matt commented half under his breath.

The Donkeys, even though they were heavily laden, seemed to make easy work of the narrow path. One man walked in front with the lead animal and the others followed, a second man brought up the rear. The sure-footed beasts were making good progress up the steep path working their way steadily up the cliff side.

"What do you suggest we do now Matt?"

"I've got an idea for that too. I think they are going to walk the animals out to join the horsebox parked there on the edge of the Moor. By cutting across the open land it is only about 6 miles – probably take them a couple of hours. We just have to get there without being seen and wait till they have transferred the guns, then we can take these men down.

"We can't just drive up there they will hear us coming. It's too quiet out there on the Moor, nothing to hide the noise of the engine."

"I've thought of that too. Come on lets go back to the Defender."

Matt had grown fond of the tough little vehicle. Somehow it reminded him of Buck, carrying him over rocks, along uneven trails and even across streams without putting a foot wrong. As he got behind the wheel he had the feeling that this was the last time he would be driving it.

He headed off towards the Bar D ranch. As before he stopped a good half-mile away and parked the vehicle behind some hedgerows where it would not be seen. He almost wanted to reach out and pat its neck and tell it goodbye, but instead he gave to keys to Cranbourne.

"You look after these," he said.

"Where are we going?" the Englishman asked.

"To get our transportation. Come on and be quiet."

He lead the way back to the farm hoping Bardee had not left too many guards behind – after all they were the one man short who had been captured at the cottage last night. He thought back to the night in the Jamaica Inn, there had been Bardee and about 5 farm hands. There were two men with the burros; he guessed they would have two more out there with the horsebox. That only left one or two at the farm.

They hid behind the same bushes they had used the night before and using the night goggles they could only see the two guards that were present last night. Tonight there were no noises of a party going on.

"I'll take the one at the barn if you get the other one."

The man on guard at the barn was a wiry little character, he had a shotgun but it was propped up against the wall behind him. He seemed half asleep as Matt crept along the side of the barn staying close to the wall. He was just about to grab the guard around the neck when the man suddenly swung around slashing a knife. Matt jumped back and the blade missed him by inches. The man was on him again. He was so agile that the Marshal felt it was like trying to catch a catfish with his bare hands.

The silence of the night is now shattered by the sounds of their struggle. Finally Matt manages to hold the man's arm long enough to twist his wrist and make him let go of the knife. As it falls to the ground he kicks it away, then lands a strong backhand using all the force he can muster. The man falls backwards from the force of the blow, but even so he lunges to get a hold on Matt's left leg to haul him to the ground also. Matt is faster and sidesteps the move, then dives on top of his opponent. They wrestle in the sandy soil for several minutes until Matt finally delivers a knock out blow to the man's jaw. He struggles to his feet breathing heavily for a minute, unable to believe that such a wiry little man could have given him so much trouble. He checks his prisoner for other weapons and finding nothing he looks around for some rope. All he can see is a lunge line hanging on a hook by the main door so using that he hog ties the man and secures him in the back of one of the empty stalls.

Looking around he sees Cranbourne heading towards him pushing the other guard in front of him.

"Looks like you put up quite a fight Matt," he says looking at the tall man's face, which shows the results of several well-landed punches, and grins.

Matt ignores the comment and goes looking for something to secure the second prisoner with, on the way he picks up the knife so as to move it far from these two.

Cranbourne looks around as Matt is just finishing tying their second captive with a couple of lead lines he managed to find.

"So where is this transportation you were talking about, we still have another 4 miles or so to go to meet up with that horsebox."

"Oh they're down at the far end, follow me and I'll show you."

As Matt points to the grey gelding and the sorrel mare in two stalls at the far end of the barn, a look of horror comes over the Cranbourne's face.

"Oh no, wait a minute now, I have never been on one of those things in my life." As he speaks Matt thinks he can detect a note of fear in the man's voice, he finds that difficult to understand. He himself can hardly remember a day, except when he'd been laid up in Doc's office, when he hadn't ridden a horse somewhere.

"It'll be alright, c'mon I'll saddle her up for you. Kitty rode her the other day and she was as gentle as a summer breeze through the cottonwoods."

It doesn't take Matt ten minutes to get both horses tacked up. He adjusts the stirrups on Cranbourne's horse and finally convinces him to mount up. Then he gets on the big grey gelding.

"Just follow me, you'll be fine."

Matt tries to follow the animal trail they had used a few days ago. He didn't like riding in the dark, too many hazards, but he hadn't seen any prairie dog holes in these parts and Thomas had told him that snakes were very rare in this country, so the only danger was from the occasional large rock that could be tripped over or walked into so he just had to trust the horse's instinct to alert him to that.

It takes them about thirty minutes to get to the small group of trees that Matt had found the other day. Sure enough Bardee's horsebox is parked there, well hidden from the road. Not being sure if anyone is in it, Matt stops the horses a good way back and tells Cranbourne to dismount. The poor man struggles to maintain his balance once his feet meet the ground. His legs feel as if they have no strength left in them. He watches as Matt gets off his horse with no problem whatsoever and leads the two animals to a small patch of thick undergrowth and ties them there. He removes their saddles and bridles, then turns the animals loose.

The Englishman looks at him curiously. This man seems so at ease around the horses, like he has handled them all his life.

"Why are you letting them go like that?"

"We don't want them making noise once the Donkeys arrive."

Dillon also thought he didn't want the animals left tied there, just incase this did not all go as planned. He figured he could always go find them if they were needed again anyway.

Not much to do now but sit and wait. He goes back to where Cranbourne is sitting on a small rock.

"I'm glad that's over," he says, "You look like you've been doing that all your life."

Dillon thinks to himself 'If only you knew,' but all he says is "I've been around them some."

It's almost an hour before they hear noises that indicate the arrival of the donkeys. They watch as two men jump from the horsebox to greet the new arrivals. Matt can hear their words but cannot understand them. The donkeys are noisy and Matt is glad he turned the horses loose – they would have been whinnying if they were nearby.

"What language are those men speaking?" he asks

"Some form of Arabic, but there are so many dialects, I can't understand much of what they are saying."

They watched in silence as the men worked quickly to unload the animals' packs and place the contraband in the back of the horsebox. They stacked it all towards the front then loaded several bales of hay behind so a casual inspection would not reveal what they were really carrying.

As the vehicle pulls away Cranbourne breathes a sigh of relief,

"They are someone else's problem now, all we have to do is take down these two before they can notice anything's wrong. Shouldn't be too tough."

Matt had had the feeling they were not the only people hiding in the bushes that night. To begin with he said nothing, thinking it was just his imagination, the sounds of this landscape where different to the night noises made by the prairie.

Both smugglers were now riding donkeys. The small size of the animals meant that their feet almost touched the ground. Matt figured it would be an hour or so before they made it back to the Bar D. Come to think of it he hadn't seen Ben Bardee all evening. He was not one of the two men in the horsebox and he was certainly not out there riding a donkey. That worried him too, he liked to be aware of where everyone he was after was located, especially when guns were involved.

After ten minutes he could see that the two donkeys carrying the men began to tire. They would have to switch animals soon.

"Allen, come here. They are going to have to get off of those donkeys soon. When they do we need to take them. They will have their backs towards us for a few seconds and that will give us the opportunity to jump then. Carefully they worked their way forward so they were parallel with the riders. Just like Matt had predicted they dismounted from the animals, the two lawmen moved forward as one and jumped both of them at the same time. Matt was ready for the squirming and kicks from the man after his fight back at the barn, and quickly felled the smuggler with an uppercut to the jaw, putting all the power he could muster behind the punch.

Somehow he looked up in time to see a movement in the bushes about 20 feet away, there was a muzzle pointed in their direction, even in the darkness he could see it thanks to the little glimmer of light coming from the crescent moon. In one movement he puts his hand in his pocket and withdraws the Glock, flipping the safety catch with his thumb as he did so. At the same time he yells at Cranbourne and dives forward to push his friend out of the line of fire. Then everything happens at once. He fires the Glock, and at the same time hears a muted "phut" and feels a tremendous force burning its way into his chest. For an instant he cannot get a breath. The momentum from the bullet lands him squarely on top of the Englishman. Grasping the right side of his chest he manages to roll off of the man and lies on the ground trying to get air in his lungs.

"Hold on Matt," Cranbourne looks at him and drawing his own gun goes to investigate the area where the shot came from. He returns quickly,

"You got him Matt, he's dead. It was Bardee"

Matt lay there holding his side, still having difficulty breathing. He manages to nod his head in acknowledgement.

The men who had been riding the donkeys were still out cold. Cranbourne looks at Matt and then eases back his friend's coat to look at where the bullet hit. They were wearing bulletproof vests, it should be all right, but he sees blood. Pulling the vest and shirt back he sees the bullet had indeed penetrated the protective garment. He takes his phone out and enters a number.

"Man down, I need medical and back up to this location fast."

That is all he says, but he does not end the call, just sets the phone aside on the ground, still transmitting its signal for his backup to follow.

"Allen," Matt manages to say between gasps, "take the ropes from …. the donkeys… Tie those men up… Go."

Cranbourne looks at him, "You saved my life." He seems dazed for a minute now that he realizes exactly what had happened.

"Tie them up, now," Matt repeats, trying to maintain control over the pain and the growing weakness that is invading his body. "Turn the ani….mals loose."

He scrambles to his feet and does as Dillon had told him.

The men give him no trouble even the animals seem to cooperate. He is back by Matt's side in less than ten minutes.

Taking off his own coat he folds it then lifts his friends' head with one hand pushing the coat under to make a pillow with the other.

"Matt, stay with me now, they'll be here soon."

Matt barely hears him but he manages to turn his head towards the man,

"Tell….Kitty…..I….I.." He does not have enough strength to finish the sentence.

He feels darkness closing in around him. Every breath is a struggle against pain and an unwillingness of his lungs to expand. Not like this, he didn't want it to end like this, so far from home, so far from Kitty.

He gathers the last of his strength; he wanted to ask Allen to tell Kitty something for him, but he couldn't remember what he had been trying to say.

He is aware of hands. They are cutting his jacket, doing something to his chest, he groans, that makes the pain worse. Now they are sticking something in his arm. A mask is over his mouth and nose, he thinks at first it is ether, but it has no smell. He wants to push it away, but his arms are too heavy.

He becomes aware of a voice. "Leave the mask, it's just oxygen, it'll help you breath. We're going to move you to a stretcher."

The hands are there again. Pain burns through his right side as he is lifted from the ground. He must have passed out.

He is aware of a regular beating sound, "thup, thup, thup."

He is being moved into a vehicle, he tries to open his eyes, there are small flashing lights all around. The beating sound gets faster, and changes to a high-pitched drone. They are going up – like in that lift at the apartment, but they keep going much further.

Now they are connecting wires to his chest, another wire clipped to his finger. Something is being connected to his arm. Gradually the pain is fading. It is like there is a curtain ahead of him. He can push his way through it if he wants to. Somehow he knows he wants to. He can do it, not much effort.

He finds himself standing on the runway looking at the jet he had flown in earlier. There standing at the steps to the plane is Kitty. She is dressed in those pants she had purchased in London, the ones that set off her figure so well.

He looked around, somewhat confused. She beckons him on again.

"Come on Matt, hurry. For some reason we have been given time."

He does not understand, but slowly walks towards her. She takes his hand and gently pulls him up the steps. There is a red light in the side of the doorframe and it starts to flash.

"Come on now, its okay."  
"What are we doing here Kitty, I was…. I can't think."  
"You don't need to, just come and sit here, we are about to take off."  
He felt the whine of the jets and obediently sat in the seat she indicated. Effortlessly the small jet climbed into the evening sky. They could see the lights on the river below them as the colors of the sunset took over the western horizon.

The pilot was separated from them by a door, but his voice came over the speaker.

"You are free to move around the cabin."

She takes his hand, there is another door at the back of the plane. He had not noticed it last time he was here. She opens it and encourages him to walk through.

There is a bed – just like the one that is in Kitty's room back at the Long Branch. How is that possible?

"What.." somehow he can't form the question he wants to ask.

"They are giving us time Matt, I don't know why. Let's not waste it."

She pulls him to her, at first he resists, not understanding what is happening.

She slides her hands inside his shirt and her fingers feel smooth as they pass over his chest.

"It's alright, relax now, we have time."  
Finally she feels the tension disappear from his body and then he takes her in his arms.

"I don't understand this. I was…" again he could not remember.

The warmth of her body against him, soothes his fears. As she unbuttons his shirt he sits on the bed. It even feels like the one back home. Maybe… no he looks out through the small window this is certainly not Kansas of his time. They are high above the city, he can see the river and the city lights below.

He lies back on the bed, pulling her down with him.

Side by side they look at each other.

"Make love to me Matt. I want to feel you make love to me."

Gently he undoes the buttons of her silky blouse and looks at the soft porcelain skin beneath. He reaches behind her to undo that weird contraption trapping her beautiful breasts. She giggles and gently takes his large calloused hand and leads it to her hardened nipples.

At last he believes her. This is real. He kisses her lips and hungrily searches for her tongue. The jet engines whine their way through the air as the light outside continues to fade.

She eases the shirt off from his back and pulls her to him. She can feel his heart beating a frantic rhythm as he reaches down to find that fastener which is keeping him from the rest of her body. His hand explores these newly uncovered areas and she moans as he touches her delicate skin.

"Oh Matt," she breathes in his ear, "I love you so much, don't ever leave me."

He eases up off of her long enough to remove the wrangler jeans she had bought for him, and when he lowers himself down to her again, he feels her hands caressing those cheeks that the garment had been protecting. Her nails are digging into him now. Her need grows stronger, she wants to feel him within her. He was playing it slow. For some reason he had a need to make this moment last, something both of them could remember. Somewhere in the back of his mind there was a fear. The last time, was this the last time? Was that what they were being given? One last time.

Finally he could delay no longer, their combined passion became impossible to contain. No, this could not be the last time. He feels their combined powers erupt before the darkness starts to take him over again.

He lay back exhausted, trying to call her name.

"Kitty I love you."

"Hush now Cowboy, I love you too. I always will." He heard her soft voice and then felt her gentle fingers playing on his lips.

It was all fading away. He tried to hang on. "Don't go." he whispered

The engines droned on, their sound was different now, more like blades chopping the air. They were descending into the darkness again. He could feel it. He needed her there, but it was not her voice that spoke to him this time.

"We'll be landing in a few minutes, don't try to move."

Then even that voice faded.

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

**The Historians**

Chapter 17

"Tell Kitty I…"

The words Matt had said kept running around in Allen Cranbourne's head.

He could see that the wound in his friend's chest was a bad one, already there was a lot of blood on his shirt and a small puddle was beginning to form on the ground. With that kind of ammunition these people could take over a whole city and maybe more.

Fifteen minute response time, the Agency had always promised him, sometimes less. He hoped this time it would be less.

At last he heard something way in the distance, there was a bright spotlight in the sky and the sound of rotor blades chopping the air. The light got lower and lower and finally disappeared behind some trees about a mile or so away. The sound, too, settled to become a slower regular beat and he knew the helicopter had landed. It was still a way off – probably nearer the road where there was enough room to put it down safely. A few more minutes passed before he heard the loud engine of an ATV heading towards the signal from the little box he had placed on the ground. He could see the headlights flashing and dimming as the vehicle bounced between trees and over the rocky terrain, carrying its riders to their destination.

He could see now, that there were four men riding on the noisy machine, one seated and the other three just hanging on the outside. Before it even stopped completely, two of the men jumped off carrying four large bags of equipment, one of which they unfolded to form a stretcher. His friend seemed to be unconscious now. He carried a terrible pain inside knowing that this man risked his life to save him. Why did he do that? They had only met a week or so ago, it was not like they were brothers or even close friends.

He heard them working on Dillon. They were cutting his jacket to get to his arms. He watched as one of the medics inserted a needle and started an IV, another is applying a pressure dressing over the wound. Then they managed to fasten EKG leads to the part of his chest that was not now covered with bandages. Finally they put a mask over his face, oxygen he presumed. Dillon resisted at first, trying to push the mask away, but he had so little strength left that his efforts were futile.

"Where are you taking him?"  
"The Agency wants him taken to Guys, they have a man there. None of this can be allowed to leak out to the news media because there is still a lot of work to be done."

Eventually the medics seemed satisfied with what they had done, they lifted Dillon onto the stretcher, then placed it crossways across the back of the ATV. Apparently the vehicle was equipped with special clips designed to hold it there because he heard several clicks as it locked into place.

It would take them at least an hour from here to get to Guys. There were other hospitals closer, he couldn't understand why they didn't take him to one of those but as usual the Agency would have their reasons.

He heard the ATV roar off into the darkness. The medics never even spoke to him, but that's how the system worked.

One of the men from the ATV stayed behind. They did not exchange names – pretty pointless anyway, the name this man went by on this particular day was probably as far from the one his parents gave him, as was Allen Cranbourne's.

"We'd better get these prisoners to the road – there'll be a car along for them any minute," the newcomer said. Cranbourne in turn told him about Bardee lying dead in the bushes. The man talks into his phone for a minute.

"That will be taken care of, leave your tracker here and they will make a pick up shortly."

Cranbourne went over and placed the little device in Bardee's pocket, then they gather up the two gunrunners and start walking them to the road.

The new man looked at Cranbourne, "Do you have transportation?"

"Yes, about a mile or so back down the road. I'll be okay." He could feel the keys to the Defender in his pocket, strange that Dillon should have made a point of giving them to him.  
They made quick time to the highway and it was not long before a dark color SUV pulled up. The prisoners were pushed into the back and the man who had stayed behind with Cranbourne got in the front passenger seat. The vehicle pulled away, and he was left alone with his thoughts. He started walking towards the place where they had left the Defender. Strange how he missed the tall man, they had only worked together for a few days, but there was something special about him.

'Kitty.' Dillon had mentioned that name several times. Wife or girlfriend – certainly she was important to him. He would find her somehow. He wanted her to know that the man had saved his life. From the look of the wound in his chest, he wouldn't give a lot for his chance of surviving. She deserved to know how it happened and he knew from experience that the Agency would not tell her.

Back at the Defender he looked in the side pocket of the door where they had stowed their phones earlier in the evening. Finding the one belonging to his friend, he turned it on. There were only five names in the contacts list, and one of those was his. Kitty's name is there. He thought of calling her but it was now 3 o'clock in the morning, not a good time to wake someone especially with bad news. He needed to get to London, specifically to Guys. Maybe the agency could find him a jet. By road it would take at least three hours. He wanted to speak to Kitty before then.

It had been a busy day for Kitty and Doc. The elderly man seemed fully recovered and now wanted to see as much of this city as he could. He had got quite good at this internet thing and found several medical museums around London that he wanted to go visit. He amazed Kitty in so many ways, firstly that he had recovered from a serious illness so quickly, and how he had mastered so many of the gadgets people in this century took for granted. Most of all she admired his passion for medicine and his continued thirst for new knowledge.

He wanted to visit the Hunterian museum at the Royal College of Surgeons. There was a second museum at St. Bartholomew's Hospital and thirdly The Welcome museum on Marylebone Road.

She couldn't let him go off alone, he had threatened to, and she knew he would without a doubt. So in the end she agreed to accompany him on condition he would tell her if he got tired so that they could come back to the apartment and rest.

He had dragged her around all three museums with an unflagging energy. He pointed things out to her and they laughed at some of the instruments on display said to be historic. Doc carried identical ones in his medical bag and considered them to be the latest thing.

At last she persuaded him to stop for something to eat claiming that even if he wasn't tired, she was. Besides which her feet were killing her.

It was well into the evening before the taxicab bringing them back to the apartment stopped outside their building.

They went inside and Kitty fixed a snack that they ate while Doc sat watching one of his favorite 'Westerns'. It was only 9 o'clock in the evening but for some reason she felt unbelievably tired.

" I have to go to bed now Doc, I'll see you in the morning. Maybe Matt will be back then and we'll get to go home."  
He grunted a reply she could not make out. He was deep into the Western and she got the feeling he would be quite happy to stay in this time period.

Somehow she was so tired she just lay on the bed, not even bothering to get undressed. She must have slept for a while but she awoke with thoughts of Matt. Maybe she was still asleep, she was back in that Jet again, she could see Matt standing there by the hangar building. Something was telling her what to do, not that she minded. She called him over and managed to get him on board. Now they were taking off. The rest was a blur. He was with her in that iron bed she had bought specially for her room in Dodge. But they were not in Dodge at all. They were flying. The river and the city were beneath them. The message was clear in her head, "Enjoy this, it is a gift from us. We owe it to you both." She felt his weight on her, the whole experience was so real.

She woke in a cold sweat. "The last time", that phrase kept playing in her mind also but it could not be true, she did not want to think about it and forced it to the back of her mind. It had just been a dream after all. She got up to get a glass of water to dispel the nightmare – or was it a dream? Their lovemaking had been so perfect, how could that be a nightmare?

Her phone rang. The noise seemed so loud in the quiet of the night.

It was Jennifer.

"I'm on my way over, I'll tell you why when I get there."

I was not long before she stood in the apartment. Kitty looked at her,

"Something's wrong isn't it?"

Jennifer nodded. "They're bringing Matt in by helicopter, he's pretty badly hurt."  
Kitty had been through this so many times, but still it caused her heart to skip a beat and her stomach to turn over.

"What happened?"

"He got shot in the chest. Thomas is on his way in, he'll be there when Matt arrives."  
Kitty buries her face in her hands. "No, not again."  
Jennifer puts her arm around Kitty's shoulders.

"If anyone can pull him through Thomas can, he's the best thoracic surgeon in the city, probably the country."  
"I have to be there for him, let me freshen up and we'll go."

Somehow her dream was becoming clearer, a gift of time, one more time, the last time. Those phrases were stuck in her head. She could see every minute detail of that precious encounter as it replayed in her minds eye, every move they made and every word they said. It was sweet but unbearable at the same time.

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

**The Historians**

Chapter 18

They got to the hospital a few minutes before the helicopter arrived. There was a radio communications system in a room off of the A&E department and already the flight medics were calling in vital signs and sending EKG traces ahead of their arrival.

"The helicopter will land on the roof and then they will bring him directly down here by that lift. They have a special room set up back there that they are preparing for his arrival. He'll have the best possible care Kitty."

A light began to flash at the desk.

"That means the helicopter is coming in to land. He'll be here in a minute."

She takes Kitty's hand and leads her to the lift. Thomas has just arrived. He is standing there in shirtsleeves, no white coat, looking like he had just run in off the street. He glances briefly at Kitty then as the lift door opens, he grabs a corner of the stretcher and leads it into the prepared room.

She wants to get close to Matt, to touch him and let him know she is there, but there is no room. Too many people, tubes, wires, machines. There is a mask over his face with a bag attached to it. One of the nurses is squeezing it at regular intervals. It is all so confusing.

Someone counts to three and Matt is lifted from the stretcher and onto a metal table in the centre of the room.

Kitty feels so helpless. At least in Doc's office she knows what is going on and what is needed.

Thomas is looking around for a stethoscope, apparently he'd had no time to collect his own. Jennifer passes him hers.

Kitty watches as he listens to the marshal's chest and starts calling out orders.

"Tell me what's happening," she pleads to her friend.

"He's ordering a chest xray and some blood work. Also he wants some O-negative blood to get started with, then they will type and cross match for some more."

Kitty still feels confused, all of these words meaningless to her. "And why do they keep calling Thomas "Mr. Kedworth". Is he not a doctor?"  
Jennifer laughs gently. "In this country, when a surgeon passes all those higher exams for his specialty he stops being called Doctor and becomes a 'Mr'. It's a kind of honor. Quite confusing I know, but we Brits have a lot of history and tradition to contend with."

After that first flurry of activity things start to calm down a little as they wait for all the test results to come back. Thomas beckons Kitty to come closer.

"Don't be scared by all this gadgetry, come and let him know you are here."  
She goes over to him, almost scared to touch anything. A tube going into his mouth has replaced the mask that had been covering his face. It is connected to some kind of machine with something that looks like a bellows pumping up and down at regular intervals. Her face must have revealed the fear she felt.

Thomas came over to her. "It's all right Kitty – that is just taking over his breathing for now. He can't talk, and I'm not sure if he can hear you, but just in case he can, go on and tell him you are here."

A voice comes out of a box on the wall "Mr. Kedworth, the chest Xray is ready for viewing." He turns around and presses a button on what looks like a small television on a stand behind him. A picture comes up. To Kitty it looks like the top half of that skeleton she has seen in Doc's office.

She goes to Matt and gently pushes those unruly curls back from his forehead. Then she reaches down to take his hand, being careful not to disturb any of the tubes and wires that surround him.

"I'm here Cowboy." There was a very slight pressure from his fingers – was it real or just her imagination.

She realizes that Thomas is talking to her again.

"Right now as soon as they bring me a tray with everything I need, I'm going to put in a subclavian line. It's like that needle in his arm, but it is bigger and goes into a bigger vein. It will be more secure and more efficient, so we can give him blood and any medicines necessary. After that is done I will take him up to theatre – surgery – and see what I can do to patch him up. I won't remove that dressing till I get him there just in case it causes him to loose more blood, so I haven't seen what damage has been done yet."

A nurse appears and sets a large tray wrapped in a green cloth on a metal stand beside Thomas.

He goes to wash his hands. When he returns the nurse opens a pack of sterile surgical gloves and gown. She holds the gown up for him to put his arms through the sleeves and then holds each of the gloves open in turn so he can push his hands into them.

"Kitty" he says, "I don't know if you want to watch this, or go sit in the waiting room. I asked Jennifer to go get Doc to be with you. Once we get him up to theatre, there's a room to wait there that's a little nicer and a little more private."  
Kitty stands her ground. Thomas doesn't argue, he knows how strong she is – after all she assisted him when he was in Dodge and just maybe it will help Matt.

Kitty takes a hold of the big calloused hand and watches. Thomas paints the area around Matt's shoulder with some brown liquid, then takes some green towels and drapes them so as to cover part of his chest and lower neck. Next there is a blue paper sheet with a hole he opens it up and places it over the towels. The hole leaves the area around Matts collarbone exposed. She looks across the table at Thomas, but his eyes and mind are concentrated on what he is doing. There is a young nurse standing beside her, just waiting there incase anything extra is needed.

"Don't worry," she says softly, "Mr. Kedworth can do this with his eyes closed."  
Kitty watches as he picks up the large needle, and passes a small tube through it, apparently just checking that everything is going to fit together. Then he turns his attention to Dillon. Using his gloved fingers he feels along the collarbone, hunting for the right place to insert the needle.

As he pushes the device into the skin below the clavicle, Kitty finds herself holding her breath and she feels Matt's hand tighten around her fingers, only a little but at least he is still there with her.  
"Just hold on a minute, Cowboy," she whispers.

She watches Thomas's hands as he directs the needle almost straight down at first and then inward towards his patient's neck. He watches as blood backs up into the syringe, removes part of the device and slides the thin tube in through the hollow needle.

"We're in," he says to Kitty.

He connects the IV line that is hanging ready for him and removes the surgical gloves and the blue paper gown and throws them in a bin.

"We're going up to surgery now, if you want to come along I'll show you where you can wait up there. Jennifer should be back with Doc any minute now, she'll bring him on up there."  
Kitty followed the entourage of people as they got in a large lift. They were bringing the breathing machine and two IV poles together with a couple of monitors balanced on the stretcher. The lift took them up two floors then the whole team started down a hallway.

"I'm sorry you can't come any further than this."

They had stopped in front of some double doors. "The waiting room is off to the right there. They have a coffee machine and some snacks available. I'll come and let you know as soon as we're finished. It may be a while though."  
Kitty took the calloused hand in hers one last time. "I'll be waiting right here for you, Cowboy." She bent to kiss him on the forehead, again she felt some movement in his fingers. Then they started to wheel him away.  
She looks at Thomas with pleading eyes. He could feel her inner turmoil through the look she gave him.

"I'll do everything I can."

"I know."

They vanished through the doors, Kitty turned to wipe her eyes and found the young nurse standing there behind her.

"Your friends are on their way?" she asks.

"I think so."

"Your husband is in good hands."

Kitty has no words inside her to reply.

"Come on I'll make you some tea, I think it's going to be a while. I'll wait with you till your friends arrive."

It was about ten more minutes until Jennifer arrived with Adams in tow.  
Kitty couldn't help it, she ran over and clung on to her friend from Dodge.

There was a comfort there that only he could provide. This big hospital with all its fancy machines and wonderful medicines was all well and good, but Doc's very presence was a solace in itself. No place here could provide that.

The young nurse started to leave.

"Thank you for staying with me."

She smiled, nodded and quietly closed the door as she left.

Time dragged by, at times the clock on the wall barely seemed to move. They were sitting on a large leather couch. Kitty had her head resting on Doc's shoulder and he had his arm around her. She was trying to hold up, but Doc knew what was going on in her mind. Occasionally tears would come and he pulled a big soft tissue from the box on the table and handed it to her. After an hour or so she fell asleep. He did not want to disturb her, not much else was going to help at this point.

TBC


	19. Chapter 19

**The Historians**

Chapter 19

After what seemed forever, even to Doc, the door to the waiting room opened and Thomas was standing there, still dressed in blue surgical scrubs, mask hanging loosely around his neck. From the look on his face and the dejected stance of his body, the elderly man knew that the news was not good.

He looked up at him enquiringly and there was a slight shake of the surgeon's head. Doc swiped his mustache with his hand and frowned. This was not going to be easy.

"Kitty, its time to wake up now." He moved the arm that had been holding her and spoke gently. She opened her eyes and looked from one man to the other. A cold, paralyzing fear went through her. Their eyes conveyed the message she dreaded.

"I'm sorry Kitty, I did everything I could."  
"But…but you have all this wonderful equipment and medicines we know nothing about. How…. You saved his life in Dodge with just a probe and forceps, here you have…" her thoughts were muddled, her emotions taking over.

He sits on the couch next to her, taking her hands in his.  
"I know Kitty. There are some things even modern medicine can't fix, there had been too much damage. I'm so sorry."

Kitty could do nothing. It was as if her mind stopped working and her body froze. She put her elbows on her knees and placed her head in her hands. Doc could feel the sobs wracking through her body as he put a gentle arm around her shoulders.

"What happened?" he asked, looking at Thomas.

"There was a lot of damage to his right lung. I managed to fix most of it. I had to remove a lobe but he should have done fine with that. There was a lot of other damage too, maybe it would have healed in time but then his heart stopped four times. The first three we got it got it going again. The fourth time – well… we weren't so lucky."

The man stood there a minute looking at Kitty. He took a big breath  
"Kitty I think you will be going home soon, I know that Matt accomplished his mission here."

"How can I go home without him, I just can't go back to Dodge without Matt." She reaches for Doc's hand and sits there a minute staring into empty space.

"Can we see him?" The tears are leaving her eyes and starting their journey down her face.

He continues quietly, "They are cleaning him up and getting rid of all those wires and tubes and then they'll move him to a small quiet room down the hallway. In a few minutes I'll take you there, you can stay as long as you need."

Kitty held her breath as she entered the room. The lighting was subdued and the colors of the walls and furnishings were muted. There, to one side was an ordinary looking bed, with an ivory color quilt as covering.

He was lying there, peacefully. He looked just as he had in her dream. The dark curly hair, the half-smile on his face, it all looked perfectly normal. His arms and hands were lying on top of the quilt so naturally that she thought any second now he would raise one to welcome her. She let go of Doc's hand to go sit in a chair that had been placed by the bed. She took his hand in hers. Although she knew better, she waited to feel that slight squeeze. She took her other hand and curled the long fingers around her own then lifted the hand to her face. She sat like that for a long time.

There was a quiet knock at the door. Doc went to see who it was.

Kitty heard the man introduce himself.

"Allen Cranbourne," he said, "I need to see Kitty."  
"This is not a good time," Doc tells him.

" I was working with Dillon, he saved my life. I have to talk to her."  
"Let him in Doc."

Kitty recognized the man she had seen walking to the hangar with Matt the evening he had seen her off to come back to London. That was the last time she had seen Matt alive, unless she counted the dream. The thought brought new tears to her eyes.

"Mrs. Dillon?"

She nodded, why not? It didn't matter now.  
"I just had to tell you that Matt saved my life, he didn't have to do that, but he did. I will never understand why."

She smiled, she knew why, she understood Matt better than anybody.

"Not only that but because our job went well, we stopped a lot of very deadly weapons and ammunition reaching people who would try to do harm to both our countries. He probably saved a lot more lives than just mine. Your husband deserves all the credit. He figured everything out." He stops and looks at her. "Of course the Agency will never acknowledge anything about it, but I wanted you to know." He grasps her hand briefly then walks over to the bed and stands looking at the man he had known for such a short time.

"He wanted me to give you a message, he tried very hard but didn't have the strength to finish it. 'Tell Kitty I..' that was all he managed. I think I know what he was trying to say."  
"So do I."

"I just wanted you to know how proud I am that I got to work with him, he was a good man."

With that he heads for the door. There was nothing else he could say.

Kitty goes back to sit beside Matt. She is lost in her own thoughts.

She becomes aware that Thomas is standing in the room with them. He is talking to her.

"I'm glad I got to meet you all again, I just wish it hadn't it turned out this way. I don't know for sure but I think everything will be all right when you get home."

He leaves quietly and closes the door.

Doc sits in a large leather armchair across the bed from Kitty.

Her head is resting on Matt's chest and he thinks she is asleep.

TBC


	20. Chapter 20

**The Historians**

Chapter 20

Matt was aware of someone walking around and opened his eyes. To begin with he didn't know where he was. Gradually it became clear, this was Doc's office and the noise that woke him up was Doc, rummaging around trying to get the stove lit. It was barely daylight outside.

"What on earth are you doing up Doc. I thought you were sick."

" I guess I got better, I woke up feeling fine this morning."  
Matt threw off the blanket that was covering him, and sat up. He remembered now, he had sat with Doc for several hours yesterday evening because he had wanted to give Kitty a break. Finally the old physician seemed to get settled and feeling dog tired from his own five-day trip, he came out here to sleep on the exam table. Oddly, though, he felt like more time had passed than just those few hours.

He stretched his arms upwards as he got to his feet. He felt a catch in his right chest. Doc looked at him, "You must be getting old," he commented.

"No it's this table of yours that's getting old," he said rubbing his back and ribs. "I've slept on more comfortable rock piles."

"Oh quit your complaining and help me get this thing going so we can have some coffee." Strange, somewhere in the back of his mind Doc thought he knew an easier way to do this.

Noises could be heard from the back room followed by Kitty appearing bleary eyed, at the door.

"Doc what are you doing up?"  
"Making coffee," was his reply.

"But you're sick, brain fever you said. I've been sitting up here with you for the last five days. How can you just get up and start making coffee?"

"I don't know Kitty, it must have just been a bad bout of the ague. I feel fine now."

She looks at Matt. Curiously at first, she is not sure, somewhere she has a memory, a bad memory, but she can't quite reach it. She goes over to him and he puts his arm around her. For the first time since waking she looks down at the clothes she is wearing, they are hers all right, but its almost as if she remembers wearing something different, not so bulky. Clothes without all these petticoats, no bustle or corsets, more comfortable but somewhat immodest, she thinks.  
Doc reaches to get his coffee mugs down from the hooks where they always hang. He has three of them. He looks again, there are the three white coffee mugs as usual, but now there is a fourth, a blue one.  
"What's this?" He takes it down, looking carefully at it, somehow it is familiar, he remembers something, but it is too vague and he can't quite make sense of it.

"Did one of you put this there?" They both look at it, but have no explanation.

Over the next few days Kitty and Matt find that they share a few hazy memories of things that don't quite make sense. Being above the clouds looking down on a river, but it wasn't the Arkansas River. Then they remembered ocean and beaches and tall cliffs rising up out of the edge of the water. They had ridden different horses someplace that wasn't the prairie. They couldn't understand why they both had had the same dreams – because that was the only explanation they could think of. There was one memory Kitty had alone. It made her chill to the bone. She never mentioned that one to Matt but occasionally in the night she would wake with an uneasiness and would have to reach out her hand to touch, him just to make sure he was still there, warm and breathing. As time passed the memories became less clear until eventually they were forgotten all together.

It was several months later that Kitty was tidying one of the drawers in her armoire. She had just bought some new clothes and needed to clear out some of the old ones. She came across a lacy, very skimpy garment. It was obvious which part of her anatomy it was supposed to cover but she had never seen anything like this.

She runs the soft fabric between her fingers. It feels familiar but she doesn't remember buying it, nor does she know anywhere where such a garment is sold. She had never seen something as delicate or as revealing. There is a name on it, 'Victoria's Secret'. She didn't ever remember knowing anyone named Victoria.

For several days she would pull the garment from her drawer and look at it. Its familiarity intrigued her. It was like a memory was there in the back of her mind, but every time she got close to it, it would disappear out of reach.

That night when Matt arrived in her room after making his rounds, she was wearing a pale blue, silky nightgown. When he had eased the garment off from over her head, he had stared in awe at what she was wearing underneath. Somehow, somewhere he had seen her wearing that before, but a long time ago. Surely not though, his mind must be playing tricks. Where would she get something like that?

"Have you seen this before Matt?" She turns around to display her find to its best advantage.

He watches with pleasure as she teases for a minute.

"I'm not sure, you'll have to come here so I can get a closer look."

He pulls her towards him so he can look more closely at the soft lacey garment.

"Let me see now." He runs his hand across the silky, now warm, fabric, which clings so closely to her curves underneath.

"Maybe if you take it off I can get a better look." She smiles seductively at him in reply, then they both laugh and before long the big brass bed welcomes them home.

The article of clothing in question lay on the floor where it fell.

End


End file.
